Their Worlds Will Collide
by DramioneLove6
Summary: Okay, this is a DRAMIONE, so if you don't like that coupling don't read! Hmm, this is one story from two points of view - Hermione's and Draco's. Each chapter is seperated in the middle, and the top will be Hermione's story; the bottom, Draco's. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

The Letter

It was a not a normal day for Hermione Granger. It was September first, which meant later that morning she'd be off to finish her last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She opened her trunk to check for the hundredth time that she had all her robes, books, and other nessecities for school. Once she was satisfied that she hadn't forgotten anything, she crossed to her door and yelled down the hall at her mother.

"Mum, I'm ready to go! When are we leaving?"

Her mother came door and replied, "Well let's see. The train leaves at eleven, you want to be there by ten forty-five, it takes us twenty minutes to get there, and it is--" she glanced at her watch--"only eight thirty. Which means we don't leave for another two hours or so. Go back to bed for a while. You look like you haven't slept a bit."

Hermione sighed. How could she sleep? In two hours she was going to be riding the Hogwarts Express with her best friends Harry, Ginny, and of course, Ron. Oh, yes, Ron. The boy she'd had a crush on for the last six years. And there was no way she'd ever admit to it being more, because it wasn't. Was it? She thought back to her fourth year, when she'd had a short "thing" with Victor Krum, and pondered. She'd felt slightly giddy around him, and very girly. But that died, quickly. That was a simple crush, no doubt about that. When she was around Ron...she used to feel like that, back when they were eleven and twelve years old. But the past few years that feeling had turned into something warm, and much bigger than herself. _I just love him as a brother,_ she thought. _Nothing bigger there. Sure, he's funny, cute, and protective of me, but that's nothing. I mean, look at what we've been through together--I'm bound to feel something stronger than friendship towards him. _But she'd gone through all the same things with Harry, and felt nothing like this for him. She shook her head and shuddered. "Ugh. My head hurts." She tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen, then out the back door. She walked quickly to the fence seperating the wild woods behind her house from her backyard and slipped through a gap in the wooden planks.

She walked slowly through the tall, majestic trees and felt the clear cold air wash away her worries. She loved it back here, just nothing but quiet and wild. She came back here when she needed calm, peace...when she thought about Ron. She was always confused when she thought about him, and she went down strange paths and got long-winded in her thoughts. Coming here cleared her senses and helped her think logically and practically again. So what if she had feelings for Ron? He didn't feel the same way, so she had to just suppress it and act like everything was normal. And after a while, this would pass. It had to.

She had just sat down on a log to rest when she heard her mother calling for her. She yelled back, "I'm coming! Just a minute!" and walked back the short distance to her house. She looked up at her mother hanging out a window.

"Hermione, there's an owl for you in your room. " She said, sounding a little flustered. No matter how long she'd known her daughter was a witch, it always startled her to see owls with letters in Hermione's room.

"Thanks, Mum. It's probably from Ginny." Hermione went up to her room and stopped at the door. The large, black and white owl sitting on her trunk was not Errol or Pidgwidgeon. Puzzled, she reached for the envelope it held in its beak. It had her name on it, but that was all. The owl sat there and stared at her as she read the letter within.

_"Hermione. It's taken me six years to write this letter. In those six years, I've hurt you many times, and I've been terribly cruel to you. It was because I was confused and, at first, repulsed by what I felt for you. I tried to deny it, I tried to hide it, I tried to kill it. But it's only killing me. I won't tell you who I am, because you'd just brush me off and ignore me. You wouldn't believe me. But I want to say that I am so sorry for everything I've done to you when all you did was light up my life, even in your hatred of me. I care about you more than I should...but I don't care what others say anymore. So please, don't ignore this letter. Even if you just write me back to tell me to leave you alone, please reply to this. Honestly, that's what I'm expecting...I don't know if I'm right or not, but it seems like there's something between you and Weasley. Anyway, the owl will come back to me, so don't use that as an excuse not to write back. I want to know you got this letter, because I need you to know that I love you even if you don't know who I am._

_ See you at Hogwarts."_

Hermione was stunned. She reread the letter again and again, desperate for some sign as to its sender, but found nothing that pointed to any one person. She sat a moment, then shook herself mentally and sat down at her desk to write a reply. She started to write a simple, "Yes, me and Ron are together, leave me alone" lie, but stopped. Ron didn't feel anything towards her, and she needed a distraction from him in order to get over him. Maybe seeing what would happen next was a better path to take. She wrote a quick reply and tied it to the owl's offered leg. It took off as soon as she finished. She sat down on her bed and laid back, staring at the ceiling. Her mother came to the door.

"Was it from Ginny, dear? What was it about?" She asked. Hermione continued to stare at the ceiling and replied,

"Yes, Mum. Ginny just wanted to know if I was bringing Crookshanks again this year."

"Well of course you are! Speaking of which, you'd better go put him in his basket. We're leaving in ten minutes."

First Confession

Draco Malfoy was writing a letter. It was no ordinary letter, for it was going to the girl he loved. One problem: the girl he loved just happened to be none other than the Muggle-born Hermione Granger. He'd loved her since their first meeting, but of course being eleven at the time he mistook it for loathing. He'd since learned that there was a fine line between love and hate; and he'd crossed it. He had been writing this letter for six years now and finally had the courage to tie it to his owl's leg for delivery. The handsome black and white owl, named Lec'ita, gave him a long steady look before flying off, as if giving him one last chance to back out. Draco watched her flying into the morning sun until he couldn't see her anymore. Turning from the window, he glanced around his room for any stray books. It was September first, and he needed to make sure he had everything he needed for his final year at Hogwarts, after all. Satisfied with his packing, turned to leave the room and saw his father in the doorway. His insides went cold, hot, and cold again as a wave of different emotions flooded over him.

"Good morning Father." He said courteously. His father sneered.

"Who was the letter to Draco?" He demanded. Draco, hot panic in his stomach, stayed cool and calm on the surface and lied easily. It ran in the family, after all.

"Professor Snape, Father. I wanted to make sure he got my summer Potions homework I sent him earlier this month." Okay, so his essay was in his trunk, but Lucius Malfoy didn't know that. Lucius sniffed.

"Fine. Finish packing, we're leaving in an hour." He turned on his heel and stalked off. Draco waited until his father's footsteps died away before venturing out. He crept through the huge mansion until he came to the back door. Letting himself out onto the grounds, he wandered and wondered. He couldn't believe he'd finally done it. He'd told Hermione Granger he loved her. Not that she would know it was him, he hadn't written anything that would let her figure it out. But for now it was enough that he'd told her in some way. He smiled, thinking of her, and let his mind go back through the years. The first meeting at Hogwarts before they were sorted. Second year, when she'd been Petrified by the Basilisk. When she'd punched him when they were thirteen. He remembered how jealous he'd been of Potter during the Triwizard Tournament because Hermione showed so much concern for him; and then being jealous of Victor Krum, who got to take her to the Yule Ball. He relived the horror of finding out she'd gone to the Ministry of Magic with Potter. And then, last year, he thought she was dead after the Death Eater attack on the school. He had never felt such fear. He'd never felt such _anything _he felt for her. All his emotions were amplified when he thought of her. He sat down by the ruined, broken remains of a wall that ran along the property's edge. He closed his eyes, leaned back, and conjured her face in his mind. He played a silent movie in his head of her different faces. He smiled with her, laughed at her cute angery moments and cringed at her scary ones. He felt hot anger boiling in him as he recalled the one time he'd seen her cry. He wanted to kill whoever had made her cry. He never did find out what she was crying about.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Lec'ita had returned until she nipped him gently on the hand. He jumped, then snatched the letter tied to her leg and ripped it open. What he read left him with a growing sense of elation.

"There's nothing between Ron and I, so I won't tell you to leave me alone. I'm interested. Won't you please tell me who you are? If I'm going to see you at Hogwarts anyway, won't I eventually figure out who you are? Why all the secrecy? Please. I want to know who you are. At least tell me if you're in Gryffindor, so I won't wonder every time I see someone from my own House. Do I know you very well? Are you in any of my classes? Are you even in my year? Let me know. If you write back, I will.

Yours truely,

Hermione Granger"

She wasn't attatched to Weasley as he'd suspected, and she was open to continuing to have contact with him! There was the potential problem of revealing too much while trying to let her know enough to keep her writing, though. He heard a loud _pop_ behind him and stuffed Hermione's letter in the pocket of his robes quickly. His father walked around the wall.

"Come, Draco. You're mother's taking you to King's Cross."


	2. Chapter 2

Telling Ginny

"Hermione, hey! Come on, we're in the next car." Ginny led Hermione into a car on the Hogwarts Express that was empty, save for Ron and Harry. She heaved her trunk into the overhead storage compartment and sat down. The train was already on its way, and they'd all said their goodbyes to family at the platform.

"Hermione, how was your summer?" Harry asked her.

"Hope it was better than mine," Ron grumbled.

"He got his ass chewed by Mum all summer for not cleaning his room." Ginny explained, giggling.

"It was perfectly fine!" Ron snapped. "Just because she's a clean freak doesn't mean I should be!"

"We found homework from your first year in your closet!" Ginny shot back. Harry and Hermione simultaneously sat up and said,

"Ron did homework first year? Wait, Ron did homework?!" The four of them looked at each other and burst out laughing. As the other three chattered about plans for the new school year, including private trips to Hogsmeade for Harry and Ginny, Hermione looked out the window and wondered about her mystery admirer. Ron's voice brought her back to reality.

"Hermione, are you alright? You've been staring out the window for the last ten minutes. Something bothering you?" She turned her head, and looked over his shoulder at Ginny. She was looking at her strangely.

"Yeah, no, I'm fine. I'm just tired...didn't get much sleep last night." She looked at Ron again and smiled. "Really, I'm fine." Ginny stood up.

"Hermione, could I have a word?" She said, and grabbed Hermione's arm. "Thanks! I knew you'd come." She dragged Hermione a little ways away and pushed her in a corner so they could talk in private. "Okay, what's up? You were not telling the truth." Her blue eyes flashed curiously. Hermione thought for a momnet, then decided to tell Ginny about the letter. She pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to Ginny. She took it and read it, then looked up, eyes wide. "Wow! A mystery admirer! Who do you think it is? Ginny asked excitedly.

"I don't know. They didn't say who they were, what House they were in, anything. Just that I wouldn't believe believe him if I knew who he was, and that he'd see me at Hogwarts." She stood there a moment as Ginny reread part of the letter.

"'...something between you and Weasley...he thinks you and Ron are together? What did you tell him?" Ginny knew about Hermione's emotions and was very interested in the way things were working out. Hermione looked at her shoes, and Ginny gasped. "You told him you guys were together?!" Hermione looked up sharply.

"No, I didn't. I told him me and Ron are just friends, and that if he keeps writing to me, then I will keep writing to him." Hermione said, her eyes blazing with a challenge to tell her she'd been wrong.

"Way to go, Hermione! I think you could just maybe get over Ron if this guy ever tells you who he is." She grinned at Hermione's surprised expression. "Yeah, I know all about you and Ron. It's not exactly hard to tell, considering how well I know you guys." She turned and to go back to the car with Ron and Harry and ran smack into Draco Malfoy.

"Sorry," Ginny said sarcastically. "Are we in Your Majesty's way? I suppose you'll have to find another, because we're not moving." Malfoy frowned and gave her a withering look, but turned and walked away. "Wow, he didn't insult us. I wonder if he's sick? Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Ginny turned back to Hermione and saw that her face had gone blank. "Hermione, yoohoo? Anyone home?"

"Huh? Yeah. Yeah, he must be sick or something. Let's get back to the car." They went back and joined Ron and Harry's conversation for the rest of the ride to Hogwarts.

Eavesdropping? No...

Platform nine and three-quarters was packed with children and parents saying goodbye. Draco and his mother Narcissa were among them. She looked rather teary-eyed, but he was laughing.

"Mother, we go through this every year. I'm at Hogwarts. I'll write you every week. Tell me when, and I'll meet you in Hogsmeade one weekend. I'll be home for Christmas. It's fine." Mrs. Malfoy nodded.

"I know, Draco dear, but...I still miss you. And I do worry about you so. Especially after the Death Eater rebellion and attack on the school last year...true, the - the - Dark Lord took...care of them. But I worry that there may have been some that didn't go last time. I think there could be another attack. Your father's been talking...there's still unrest in the group..." She trailed off. Draco was looking at the ground. "What's wrong, dear?"

"You know I don't like it when you talk about Father and his friends. You know I don't like them." He said sadly. He looked up. "You know I don't want to be like that, like them. I want nothing to do with the Dark Arts." His mother sighed.

"I know. But it's part of your life, at least for now. You have to deal with that. And you know I don't want you in this either. I don't want to be in this. But that's not easy. Once you're in, you can't really get out." She said. "And I know you feel like you weren't given a chance to choose for yourself because you were born into it. But trust me, someday, you'll get out of this. I have no doubt that you'll find a way." The train whistled, signaling its imminent departure. "Now go. Before you miss the train." She waved her wand at his trunk and owl and sent them floating onto the nearest car. Draco kissed her on the cheek and jumped on the train as the doors were closing. He stuck his head out the window and waved until his mother had disappeared. He grabbed his trunk and Lec'ita and stashed them in the closest empty compartment. He let Lec'ita out to fly around the compartment a bit, then went looking for Hermione. He wanted to see her at least once before school.

He passed through car after car until he came to one that seemed empty. After a few moments, he heard voices. A little exploration exposed Weasley, his sister, Potter, and - there. Hermione Granger was staring out the window at the sky, not paying a bit of attention to the other three. Draco let himself silently into another compartment nearby and watched as Weasley said something to Hermione. As they were talking, he saw a strange look pass between the two girls. A few moments later, Ginny dragged Hermione out of their compartment and into a corner. He cracked the door of his compartment to listen.

"Okay, what's up? You were not not telling the truth," Ginny said. Draco listened as Hermione told her all about the letter. He watched her hand it to Ginny, watched as Ginny's eyes grew huge as she read it.

"Wow! A mystery admirer! Who do you think it is? Ginny asked excitedly.

"I don't know. They didn't say who they were, what House they were in, anything. Just that I wouldn't believe believe him if I knew who he was, and that he'd see me at Hogwarts." Hermione replied.

"'...something between you and Weasley...he thinks you and Ron are together? What did you tell him?" Hermione looked at her shoes, and Ginny gasped. "You told him you guys were together?!" Hermione looked up sharply.

"No, I didn't. I told him me and Ron are just friends, and that if he keeps writing to me, then I will keep writing to him." Hermione said. Her voice was shaking, as if she were slightly angry. Draco decided he'd better leave before he got caught. He slid out of his compartment, turned the corner and slammed into the Weasley girl.

"Sorry," Ginny said sarcastically. "Are we in Your Majesty's way? I suppose you'll have to find another, because we're not moving." Malfoy frowned. He glared at her, but as he turned to walk away he grinned. He'd always secretly admired Ginny's spitfire temper and tendency to be in your face with the truth. She had a firey spirit. He respected her for it, and was more than a little afraid of getting on her bad side.

Draco walked back to his car, his compartment, and pulled out Hermione's letter. He reread it and smiled. _She's interested, _he thought. _I wonder how interested she'll be when she finds out more about me._ He began writing a reply.


	3. Chapter 3

New Information

Later that night, after the feast and the sorting was over and everyone was in bed, Hermione was woken by a tap on the window of the girl's dormitory. She sat up and saw the black and white owl sitting on the outside windowsill. She pulled her robe on as she hurried to open the window and let it in. Once again, the envelope bore her name only. she ripped it open eagerly.

_"Hermione, I can't tell you who I am, please don't ask me to. I don't want to risk you becoming even more lost to me than you already are. But I can tell you some things. We have many classes together, because...I'm not in Gryffindor. I'm a seventh year Slytherin. And you think you know me well, but you really don't. You only know the me that's caused you pain and problems. But that's not really who I am. I'm not like my 'friends' or my father. I am not really a cruel person. I care, I feel, I love. I don't want to follow my father's footsteps and become a Deatheater...and I've probably just made you decide to stop writing to me by saying that, but believe me when I say, if it were up to me he wouldn't be my father. Don't judge me based on the things you can imagine he's done. I've never helped him in any way with his evil ways. Not when something else could be done. I'll admit I've caved in sometimes, when he's threatened me with death, but I felt so sick after. Like I should've just let him kill me rather than do those things. If you can forgive me my past, I would very much like to continue our writing._

_ Waiting for your reply"_

Hermione scrambled over to Ginny's bed and woke her.

"Ginny! He's written me again! Read this letter and tell me what you think. Should I keep writing to him?" Ginny sat up groggily and took the letter. Her eyes widened as she read. She looked up and stared hard at Hermione for a minute.

"Well, I don't know...he's a Slytherin, and he says his dad's a Deatheater..." Ginny started. "But then he says he doesn't want to be like that, that he's different. Your only question now, really, is this: do you want to take the chance to trust someone you don't know?" Hermione stood and nodded.

"Thank you Ginny. I know what I'm going to do." She started to walk down the stairs to the common room.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked. Hermione smiled.

"I have a letter to write."

Hope & Dreams

Later that night, after the Sorting and the feast, Draco made his way to the owlery. He whistled softly, and Lec'ita came swooping out of the darkness. He tied his letter to her leg, stroked her softly, and sent her off. He watched as she flew around the castle to where the Gryffindor girls' dormitory lay in one of the many towers. He then made his way back to his own common room in the dungeons, skillfully avoiding patrolling teachers. He sat in his favorite chair by the fire and waited.

Draco dozed off, and in his sleep he dreamed. He was at Hogwarts, in the Forbidden Forest. There was a thick mist about waist high over the ground. Behind him lay a deep darkness, a blackness so solid he thought he could reach out and touch it. It made him uneasy, and he turned away from it. Walking away, he glanced behind him and saw the blackness was following him. He sped up, walking faster and faster until he was running. The dark followed, always on his heels and threatening to overtake him. Finally, he couldn't run anymore. He was breathing crushed glass, his lungs weren't drawing in air. He collapsed in the ground and waited for whatever evil to take him.

Just as the black mass began creeping up his legs, a light burst from the horizon. He looked up and saw someone standing in front of him. She was made of light; at least, that's how it seemed to him. He couldn't see her face, but she reached towards him and offered her hand to help him up. As he took it, oxygen flooded his lungs and a beautiful warmth filled him. He stood, and looked back. The darkness had gone. Not a scrap of it remained. He turned to his savior and looked at her lit up, blank face.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I am your light, who will fight your darkness by your side. Without me you will continue to struggle with no victory. Only with me by your side will you find hope, peace, and love." She stroked his face, but where he should have felt her hand he felt nothing. She sighed, a sound so sad and musical it made his heart ache. "I must go." And before he could say anything, she had evaporated.

Draco awoke with a jolt. The fire in front of him had died to embers and ash. Lec'ita sat in front of him, eyes bright and a letter on her leg.

_"__Well, I can't forgive you because there's nothing to forgive. You can't be held accountable for the things you had no choice in doing. You have nothing to be ashamed of. And quite honestly, you shouldn't carry the weight of your father's guilt on your shoulders. You need to try to let that go. It's not good to blame yourself for things you had no control over. As for me continuing to write to you, I think I'll take a leap of faith and trust you when you say you're different._

_ Your's truely,_

_ Hermione"_


	4. Chapter 4

Worry & Anger

The next morning Ginny and Hermione met Harry and Ron in the Great Hall for breakfast. Hermione was leaned against a wall, on the floor instead of at a table. This was because she couldn't stay awake. Ron looked at her dozing and shook her shoulder gently.

"Hermione, this is the fifth time I've woken you up in five minutes. Why are you so tired?"

"Because she--" Ginny started, but then saw the panicked look on Hermione's face and stopped.

"She what, Ginny?" Harry asked. Ginny laughed nervously.

"Um, she..." she scrambled for a believable story. "She was up late last night, er, studying. Yeah, to make sure she remembered everything from last year. Yeah, that's it." She glanced at Hermione and saw her releaved, grateful look. She relaxed.

"God, Hermione, can you not just believe that you're a genius? You need sleep! Don't do that." Ron told her, then turned back to his bacon and eggs. Harry glanced back and forth between the two girls, then turned to Ron.

"Is it just me, or are we missing something?" He whispered.

"Don't worry about it. It's probably just girl stuff. Hey, Harry, what's our first class? Do you know?" Harry pulled his timetable out of his bag.

"Um, we've got double Potions with the Slytherins first thing. Then DADA, again with Slytherin." He glanced up and saw Ginny's wild look of excitement and Hermione's horrified face. "What?" He asked, taken a bit aback.

"Oh, nothing. I've got Transfiguration, so I'm going to go ahead and get to class. I never take a chance on being late to McGonagall's class." She stood up and kissed Harry, then turned to leave. After a few steps, she turned and looked at Hermione. A wicked grin spread across her face. "Have fun for the next two and a half hours. Give the Slytherins my regards." And with that, she turned and left.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were getting situated in their seats and bracing themselves for the next two hours. Hermione sat nervously glancing at every Slytherin boy that walked past her seat. _Who is he?_ She wondered frantically. Then Snape came in and class started, and she was forced to pay attention for a while. Snape was talking about the potion he was having them brew. It was a Sleeping Drought, a fairly difficult potion that required more than one person to make it. Harry, Ron, and Hermione chose their tasks and got to work. Hermone had chosen to stir the potion, which wasn't quite as easy as it sounded. The potion was thick, and she had to stir it constantly after the powdered newt's eyes were added. She glanced around as she stirred and caught Draco's eye. She glared at him, and turned away. As she turned her head, she thought she saw--but no--she turned back and he was arguing with Crabbe about what order the ingredients went in. She sighed, relieved. For a moment, she'd thought she'd saw a look of pain on his face, but it was probably just anger or hatred or some other thing Draco was good at. She looked around the room, scanning the faces, looking for a likely suspect.

"Oi! Hermione! Don't stop stirring, you'll ruin the potion!" Ron yelled. She started, and realized she'd slowed her stirring quite a bit. She sped it up until the her motions were smooth and brisk.

"Sorry, guys. Just...tired." She gave a nervous laugh and glued her eyes to the potion. She didn't let herself look up until it was finished, and Snape came around to check them. She sat back, arms sore, as he fed a bit of their potion to a mouse. It keeled over in his hand, and he pulled out a small bottle. He dripped a bit of it in the mouse's mouth and it sprang up once again. He snapped the bottle shut and put it away in his robes.

"Hmm. A fair job. At least you didn't kill the mouse. Okay. Pass." He moved on to the next group. After everyone's potion had been checked, they were on their way to Defence Against the Dark Arts. Harry and Ron pulled Hermione aside in the corridor outside the door.

"What?" She snapped. "Come on, we'll be late."

"We won't be late. Are you okay? Is something bothering you?" Harry asked, concerned about his friend.

"What do you mean?" She asked cautiously.

"Well, you were jumpy as a jackrabbit in the dungons, and staring at the Slytherin side of the room most of the time instead of actually paying attention..." Ron said. Hermione froze. Had Ginny told? "What we're trying to ask you is, is one of them giving you a hard time about being Muggle-born? Because if they are, me and Harry will take care of it. No one's allowed to mess with you but us, you know." Hermione let out her breath, suddenly realizing she'd been holding it. She smiled.

"No. No, it's not that. I'm just--"

"Tired. Yeah, we don't really believe that, but whatever. Go ahead and pretend there's nothing wrong, if you want to handle it yourself, fine. Just promise me--us--that you'll come to us if you really need help. Because we care about you and we want to help you if you'd just let us. Stop thinking you can handle everything yourself, because some things you can't, okay?" Ron stared at her for a minute, anger and frustration in his eyes. Then he spun around and stalked into the classroom. Hermione looked at Harry, hurt.

"Don't worry about it, Hermione. He's just worried about you. We both are. We just want to make sure you're okay. So...is anyone bothering you? Or is there really nothing wrong, and Ron's just overreacting as usual?" He grinned.

"There isn't anyone bothering me. It...involves another person, but he's not bothering me. I'm a little distracted, but nothing's wrong." She explained. "Thank you for asking though. I do appreciate that you guys are worried about me though." She said.

"Oh, so it invovles someone who isn't bothering you...and you said _he _isn't bothering you?" Harry asked slyly. He grinned.

"Oh, shut up Harry! It doesn't matter!" She smiled, a bit embarassed, and ran into the classroom. Harry followed her, laughing.

Watch & Wonder

The next morning, Draco went to breakfast alone. Munching on bacon and pretending to study his timetable, he watched the doors for Hermione. She came in, looking rather tired. She didn't even sit at her table. She sat on the floor, leaned against the wall, and...fell asleep. He watched, slightly amused, as Weasley tried to get her to wake up and stay awake. _Oh, let her sleep, _he thought. Then something happened that made her sit up straight, looking terrified. What was wrong? Potter had his schedule out...Draco looked at his and realized immediately. First off was double Potions, Slytherins and Gryffindors, followed by Defense Against the Dark Arts, Slytherins and Gryffindors. He laughed softly as he realized she was panicking about having classes with her letter writer. _This should be interesting._ He watched as the Weasley girl (_Ginny? Yes, I think so._) stood up, kissed Potter, and walked away to turn around and say something to Hermione. The look on her face was purely wicked. He guessed it had something to do with the letters. A glance at Hermione showed her looking very scared, and a little excited. He smiled and made his way out of the Great Hall to the dungeons.

Potions was fairly uneventful. Well, it was, but nothing out of the ordinary for that particular class. There was the normal chaos of trying to make sure Professor Snape couldn't critcize them, trying not to blow up the classroom, and attempting to do the impossible. The potion was a sleeping draught, pretty powerful. It was a difficult potion. He teamed up with Crabbe and Goyle and got to work. He stirred and directed while they put in what he told them to when he told them to. At one point, his eyes met Hermione's. She glared at him, and it stung. He looked away quickly. What else could he expect? Then Crabbe came at the cauldron with way too much wormwood.

"NO! Crabbe, split that in half. And Goyle, that snake fang doesn't go in for another three steps." He shook his head. If it weren't for him, they would still be in first-year Potions. He wasn't quite sure why he helped them. Their entire families were Death Eaters, and they wanted to follow that path themselves. He knew there was no changing their minds. He supposed he stayed friends with them, and most of his other friends, for appearances. It made him feel very lonely.

At the end of class, Snape came around and tested each of their potions on a mouse. Basically, if your potion didn't kill it, you passed.

"Very good, Draco. Your potion is excellent." Snape said. Draco smirked, faking as usual. He couldn't be himself anywhere he went. He was trapped in a permanent role. He packed up and slipped quietly out of the dungeons and up to the third floor to DADA. He was the first one to class. He sat down and waited for the others to come in. Everyone made their way in except Potter, Weasley and Hermione. He wondered.

A few minutes before the bell, Weasley came storming in. The expression on his face was ill-tempered and upset. Draco's curiosity grew. Another minute, and Potter and Hermione came in. Hermione looked a bit flustered; she was blushing and kept her head down. Potter was grinning ear to ear, like he'd just figured something out. He saw Hermione say something to Ron, watched Ron ignore her, and saw the smile melt off Harry's face. Harry sat next to Ron and Hermione sat on the other side. They looked at each other and Harry shook his head and shrugged. Hermione swallowed hard, then pulled out her books as class began. Draco's blood was boiling. What was going on? Why was Weasley treating Hermione like slime on his shoe? It made him angry to think of how much Ron was hurting her. And he was doing it on purpose. His hands shook as he took notes, and he spent most of class trying not to jump up and strangle the red-haired teen sitting two seats up.

Hermione was unusually quiet, not jumping to answer questions like she normally did. It made Draco sad to see her so clearly upset. He tried to focus on the chapter about curses they were studying, but it was hard to concentrate when all he could think of was how he'd like to use each one on Weasley at the moment. When class ended, he set off for Ancient Runes, the only class he had with Hermione where Ron and Harry weren't there. Nor were any other Slytherins. He doubted she even knew he was there, but it was still nice for him to be able to daydream without worrying about getting caught.


	5. Chapter 5

Library Encounter

Hermione spent the rest of her day alternately trying to get Ron to talk to her and trying to figure out who was the letter writer. She was intensly curious, because who'd ever heard of a Slytherin loving a Gryffindor? But on the other hand, she couldn't stand Ron not speaking to her. She knew Harry was trying to get him to believe her, but it didn't seem to be working. Either way, he still wasn't talking to her by dinner. Having no appetite, she chose to skip going into the Great Hall just so Ron could give her a stony silence. She decided to go to the library instead. She needed to study and do her Ancient Runes homework. She had to translate a long and complicated lecture about the importance of learning the differences between written languages, so as not to confuse them for each other. She got to the library and spread her books and papers across a table. Fully immersed in her work, she was reluctant to come back to reality when someone spoke to her.

"Hey, I asked you a question." Draco Malfoy was standing over her, looking down at her and her work with a sneer.

"Oh, piss off, Malfoy. I'm not in the mood for your games. I've had a bad day and this is a very difficult translation I need to do before tomorrow." She looked down to resume her studies, but Malfoy wasn't giving up. He grabbed her chin, lifting her eyes to his. His touch was surprisingly gentle. "What?!" She snapped, too stunned to flinch away from him.

"No need to get hostile. I only asked you if you could help me with my translation. I'm having problems with a few symbols, and since you are really the only other person here that I know can do this stuff, you seemed like the logical person to ask." His face was almost friendly now.

She looked at him for a moment more, than blurted, "You take Ancient Runes? Since when?" A strange look crossed his face, but it was gone in a moment.

"Well, we've had the same class for the past four years, actually...but I'm the only Slytherin, so I guess you just didn't notice me." Hermione looked at him blankly. Draco frowned. "So, are you going to help me or not?"

"Why...would I help you? I owe you nothing, you have never done anything but riducle me, and...why would you, the mighty 'pureblood', stoop so low as to ask a 'Mudblood' for help with anything?" Hermione broke free from his intese gaze and jerked away from his hand. "Leave me alone and I won't curse you for the rest of your pitiful life." She began to pack up her books to take to the common room.

"Please, no, don't leave!" Malfoy pleaded. He grabbed her arm to stop her, and she tried to yank away. His grip was too strong; he held her there and smiled. "I know you don't owe me anything, but would you really pass up the chance to make _me _owe _you_?" Hermione paused as she thought about this.

"How do I know I can trust you?" She asked skeptically.

"You don't. Think of it as a leap of faith." Hermione started at his words. Hadn't she used the same phrase in her last letter to her mystery man? It had to be a coincidence. She shook herself mentally as Draco shrugged and dropped her arm. "Again: you gonna help me or not?"

"Fine. I'll help you. But I get to choose how you pay your debt. What are you confused about?" Hermione walked to his table, sat down and pulled his translation towards her. She fell immediately into teacher mode. "Oh, you need a different book for these. You're using Archedron, which works on the first half, but on the second half you need Greffin. Here, take mine. I'm done with it." She picked up the book and searched for the right page. She found it and passed it across the table to him. "See? The second set of runes there, at the bottom of the page. They work perfectly. And the rest is just translating everything. It's simple." She looked across the table at Draco. He nodded, then looked down at his paper.

"Okay. I think I have it. Thank you. Maybe now I'll be able to get this done." His eyes darted up to meet hers. "I guess I owe you now." Hermione frowned.

"I guess you do. So, I'll let you know when you can pay me back. Don't expect to hear from me soon." She stood up and grabbed her books, then walked out of the library with Draco Malfoy watching her.

Some Hope?

After a rather enjoyable Ancient Runes class, and a boring rest of the day, he headed to the library to work on homework. He breifly considered going to the Great Hall for some dinner, but he wasn't very hungry and he didn't want to test his resolve by watching that weasel treat Hermione badly. He made his way to the library, walked in the door and saw her sitting at a table. He froze for a second before stiffly making his way to a table a little ways away. He set up his Ancient Runes books and translation and tried to concentrate. He got about halfway through before he got hopelessly stuck. He sat for a few minutes just staring at it, then glanced up. Hermione was still sitting at her table, working on her own homework. After another minute of bracing himself, he stood up and went to her.

"Hey, Hermione...do you think you could help me with my Ancient Runes homework?" She was either ignoring him or was _very _absorbed in what she was doing. He wasn't sure which was more likely. He cleared his throat. She looked up. "Hey, I asked you a question." She glared at him. That look never ceased to hurt and amuse him.

"Oh, piss off, Malfoy, I'm not in the mood for your games. I've had a bad day and this is a very difficult translation I need to do before tomorrow." She looked back down at her papers and books. Before Draco could stop himself, he had reached out and taken her chin in his hand. He lifted her eyes to his and saw confusion, with a little anger. "What?!" She snapped angrily.

"No need to get hostile. I only asked you if you could help me with my translation. I'm having problems with a few symbols, and since you are really the only other person here that I know can do this stuff, you seemed like the logical person to ask." He said, trying to sound friendly.

"Since when do you take Ancient Runes?" Hermione demanded. Draco hid the disappointment. He'd known there was little chance of her noticing him, but he couldn't honestly say there's been no hope.

"Well, we've had the same class for the past four years, actually...but I'm the only Slytherin, so I guess you just didn't notice me." He frowned as her face went blank. "So, are you going to help me or not?" The anger had faded from her eyes...but not for long.

"Why...would I help you? I owe you nothing, you have never done anything but riducle me, and...why would you, the mighty 'pureblood', stoop so low as to ask a Mudblood for help with anything?" She jerked away from his hand finally, but doing so seemed to take great effort on her part. "Leave me alone and I won't curse you for the rest of your pitiful life." She bagan to pack up, clearly meaning to leave. Draco panicked. Being this close to her, touching her, was intoxicating. She couldn't leave!

"Please, no, don't leave!" He pleaded. Once again not being able to control himself, he grabbed her by the arm to keep her from leaving. She jerked away from him but his grip held. He thought frantically for anything, _anything,_ to make her stay. "I know you don't owe me anything, but would you really pass up the chance to make _me _owe _you_?" She looked at him skeptically.

"How do I know I can trust you?" She asked.

"You don't," he said. Then he grinned, knowing exactly what to say. "Think of it as a leap of faith." She reacted exactly as he knew she would. She looked at him sharply, and he could see the wonder in her eyes. He could almost see the wheels in her head turning. He dropped her arm, suddenly aware he was still holding her. "Again: will you help me?" He waited for her reply.

Hermione sighed. "Fine. I'll help you. But I get to choose how you pay your debt. What are you confused about?" She set her bag and books back down on the table and followed him to his. Pulling his translation to her as he sat down opposite her, he smiled to himself as she adopted the role of teacher like it's been made for her. "Oh, you need a different book for these. You're using Archedron, which works on the first half, but on the second half you need Greffin. Here, take mine. I'm done with it." She flipped through a thick book and passed it to him across the table. "See? The second set of runes there, at the bottom of the page. They work perfectly. And the rest is just translating everything. It's simple." She looked up at him to quick for him to be able to stop looking at her. For the split second before he dropped his head they were looking into each other's eyes. Grey on brown, the intensity was staggering. He nodded to his paper and spoke.

"Okay. I think I have it. Thank you. Maybe now I'll be able to get this done." Whe he was sure he'd composed himself, he flicked his gaze up at her. "I guess I owe you now." Hermione frowned at his words and paused before answering.

"I guess you do. So, I'll let you know when you can pay me back. Don't expect to hear from me soon." She rushed away from his table and grabbed her books on the way out. Draco watched her leave, obviously as confused as he was about what had just happened. Only one difference: he knew why he'd spoken to her in the first place. What he didn't know was what would happen next.


	6. Chapter 6

Telling Harry

Hermione wandered slowly through Hogwarts' maze-like halls and thought. What had just happened? Looking back over her last four minutes (had it only been that long?) in the library, she analyzed every move, every word, every_thing_. She realized that, even though Draco Malfoy now owed her a favor, she had let him control her in a very subtle way. Angry with herself, she hurried to the common room and up to the girls' dormitory. She tossed her books and homework in her trunk at the end of her bed. It was too much for her to handle at the moment. What with her mystery lover, Ron's anger, Ginny's strangely total support and now this with Malfoy? She felt like she would burst with all the emotions in her. She screamed, thankful she was the only one in the tower. She flopped onto her bed and cried herself silly. After a few minutes, she felt much better and a little calmer. She cleaned herself up and left the dormitory to wait for Ron and Harry in the common room. It was about half an hour before they showed up. Ron breezed past her, cold and aloof. She paid him no mind; he'd get over it soon enough. It was Harry she wanted to talk to right now. He saw her sitting there and sat in the chair next to hers.

"What's up?" He asked. "You've got that look."

"What look?" She asked. Harry laughed.

"That look that says you're angry and confused, and you hate it." She stared at him, astonished. "Hermione, when you know someone long enough, it's not that hard to read them." She opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it.

"I went to the library during dinner." She started. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Naturally," he muttered, amused. She glared at him. He cringed. "Sorry. Go on." Hermione looked around. They were the only ones in the common room.

"Draco Malfoy was there. He asked me for help with his Ancient Runes homework. Basically, he said if I helped him he'd owe me a favor. I asked him how could I trust him, and he said it was just a leap of faith." Harry raised his eyebrows, but remained silent. Hermione continued. "I guess I should explain a little more. The morning we got on the train for Hogwarts, I got an owl from someone. Whoever it was said they loved me. Here," she handed him both letters from her pocket, "read them. Then I'll keep going." She waited while Harry read the letters. He looked at her when he finished.

"So this is why you've been so distracted...and what you meant by they weren't bothering you. Okay, continue." He handed the letters back and Hermione tucked them neatly into her robes.

"Well, the first letter I wrote back I told him me and Ron were only friends, and that I'd keep writing if he did. The second letter, I told him he shouldn't carry the guilt of his fater's actions on himself. I also said that I'd take _a leap of faith _and trust him when he said he wanted to be different from his father." Harry's eyes widened as he made the connection.

"You don't think Draco - ?"

"Oh, I don't know. All I know is, the way he looked at me, and then he said that - " She sighed. "I don't know. It seems a strange coincidence." She stared into the fire.

"Would I be right in guessing Ginny knows about this?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded.

"From the beginning." She said. Harry smirked. Of course. Hermione and Ginny were so close. He stood.

"Well, she'll be here soon, I suppose. I think you should talk to her." Hermione glanced at him. He answered her unasked question. "I think you should keep writing to him, whoever he may be. You need someone. I mean, you've always got me, Ron, and Ginny. But you need someone special. I found Ginny, and Ginny found me. You need someone like that." He smiled softly. "Even if it turns out to be Draco Malfoy." He turned to go to the boys' dormitory, thinking of how much he selfishly hoped it wasn't Malfoy. "And Hermione..." she turned and looked at him. "Thank you for sharing. It makes me feel better, knowing that you trust me with this kind of stuff."

"Harry, you're my best friend, after Ginny. I trust you with everything." Hermione said. "No matter what, don't ever think I don't trust you." Harry nodded, then went to his dormitory. Hermione heard Ron's voice float down, a question in his tone. _Probably wondering what me and Harry were talking about._ Ginny came through the portrait hole as the boys' dormitory door swung shut. Hermione turned to her. "We need to talk."

"Is this about the letters?" Ginny asked excitedly. She sat down as Hermione filled her in. It took her a minute before she could speak after Hermione finished. "You mean, he used a _direct quote _from your last letter? He said the _exact _same thing? Oh my God, Hermione. This is so weird. This breaks so many laws of nature," Ginny burst out.

"Calm down, he didn't say the exact same thing. He just said something...very close." She stood, pacing, as Ginny sat watching her. "But the way he looked at me. His eyes, they were so - I don't know - wanting. But he didn't act any different. Because if you think about it, he controlled me. In a very underhanded way, he used me. Normal behavior for him. Right?" She asked. Ginny shrugged.

"I say, write to him tonight. Ask him about his day. Ask him if he has any classes he has trouble in. If he says Ancient Runes, you'll know it's Malfoy because he's the only Slytherin in your class. It's a long shot, because if it is him, he's probably smarter than that. But you can try." Ginny yawned. "Harry in the boys' dorm?" She asked. Hermione nodded. "Well then, that's where I'm headed. Keep me filled in, okay?" She stood to leave the common room, but Hermione stopped her.

"I told Harry. I didn't tell Ron, not that I can, seeing as he's ignoring me. But I don't think I want him to know just yet. I know Harry won't tell him, and I know you won't, but I just felt like you should know. You don't have to keep this from Harry anymore." Ginny nodded, and continued up the stairs. Hermione sat a few more minutes in front of the fire, then drifted off.

Unlikely Ally

Walking down the dungeon corridor, Draco was trying to convince himself to turn back and not so what he was about to do. He was about to go to Snape's office and confess everything. He didn't want to, but he was desperate for advice and didn't know where else to turn. His mind panicking, his heart pounding, he knocked on the door.

"Come in," came the smooth reply. Draco gulped and pushed the door open. Snape looked up from his grading, greasy hair falling in his face. "Ah, Draco. Come, sit. What do you need?" He put away the papers and focused his attention completely on the nervous, fidgety Draco.

"Well, Professor, I need some help with something..." he trailed off. He took a deep breath and braced himself, then said it before he lost his nerve. "I'm in love with Hermione Granger." Severus Snape, the usually emotionless man that he was, nearly lost his cool. Nearly.

"Excuse me?" He choked, obviously thinking he'd heard wrong.

"I'm in love with Hermione Granger, resident Gryffindor Muggle-born tigress." Draco said brightly. Now that it was out there, he felt much better about it. The need for someone else to know was satisfied. _At least for now, _he thought. He watched Snape carefully.

"Well, well, well. It looks like we have something in common, then, Draco. Stop looking at me like that, I'm not talking about Ms. Granger." Draco's face had gone blank with shock and horror, but now was merely curious.

"Then who are you talking about, Professor?" Snape sat for a moment, and Draco noted that he looked like he was in pain. "You don't have to tell me." He said, but Snape was shaking his head.

"I know I don't have to. I want to. Now, one thing before I begin. The only other person who knows about this is Dumbledore, so no repeating this elsewhere." Draco nodded, and Severus Snape began the story of his heartbreak.

"When I was young, before I ever got my Hogwarts letter, I lived in a little Muggle village with a playground. I often went there, not to play, but to watch girl named Lily Evans play with her sister." _Lily Evans, _Draco thought. _Where have I heard that name before?_ "She was a witch, but she didn't know it. All she knew was that she could make things happen, and she enjoyed it. Her sister wanted to be like her, but she wasn't. That jealousy eventually grew into hatred of all things magic. Anyway, one day I was watching them and decided to tell her what she was. She was a little scared at first, but once she accepted it, we became close friends. I told her everything I knew about the Wizarding world, and she listened. We got our Hogwarts letters and boarded the train together. We had been inseperable for the past year, but that was about to change, slowly at first and building up speed. We got to Hogwarts and were sorted into different Houses: myself in Slytherin, her in Gryffindor. We stayed friends until out fifth year, when I made the biggest mistake I ever did while at Hogwarts. We had just finished our last O.W.L. exam, and I was outside by the lake. Then James Potter and his friends decided they wanted to have some fun." Snape's voice grew bitter as he remembered, and Draco realized with a jolt that he was talking about Harry's father. "They had me in the air, and Lily came up and told them to cut it out. You see, she hated them as much as I did up til then. I was furious at them, and wasn't thinking straight, but that's no excuse for what I did...I told Lily to back off, I didn't need a filthy Mudblood fighting my battles for me." He stopped at this, his eyes blank, reliving the past. Draco waited, and wondered. When his Potions Professor finally resumed, his voice was heavy. "You can imagine what that did. It completely shattered her trust in me, and she turned her back and threw me away. After Hogwarts, I went on to become a Death Eater and she married Potter." _Lily Evans! My God, Harry's mother... _Draco thought. "I felt I had nothing to live for. Being a Death Eater wasn't so bad, until I learned that the Dark Lord was going after the Potters. I panicked, knowing he would kill them all. You see, I still loved her, even then. So I went to Dumbledore. I begged him for help. He granted it and sent the Potters into hiding. In return, I became a double agent." Then, something happened Draco hadn't expected. Snape's eyes, usually as hard and cold as onyx, were misty with pain. Voice faltering, he went on. "Dumbledore was the one who told me she was dead. I was broken, shattered. Then he told me that her son had lived. A tiny bit of Lily had survived. I swore to him then and there I would do everything in my power to protect Lily Evans' son. And so I have." He cleared his throat, blinking to rid himself of the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. Draco busied himself with examining the many potted dead things around the room to give his surragate father time to compose himself. Then he asked the first question that popped into his head.

"Then why do you hate Potter so much, sir?" Snape laughed, bitterly.

"Every time I look at Potter I see his father, the man that stole her from me. And I see her eyes staring back, full of anger and hate. How would you deal with that?" Draco thought about it, and realized he probably would feel the same.

"So, Professor...what are you trying to tell me?" he asked. Snape looked him straight in the eyes.

"You might be too late in trying to win her heart. But love is a powerful force, so don't underestimate it. If you start now, you may be able to reverse all you've done in the past." Draco sat silent for a minute, then got up to leave.

"Thank you Professor. I think I know what I should do."


	7. Chapter 7

Friendship's Death

When she awoke, the fire had died and the common room was completely black but for the moonlight shining through the windows. An idea in her head, she crept to the tower where the boys were sleeping and let herself in silently. She tiptoed to Harry's bed and woke him.

"Shh. Can I borrow the Invisibility Cloak?" She whispered in the darkness.

"Yeah. Hang on." Harry slipped out of bed and opened his trunk. He rummaged around a bit, then extracted the Cloak. He passed it to her wordlessly. "Do I want to know where you're going?" He asked.

"Just to the owlery." She looked at him, his face concerned. "I'll be okay. Thank you Harry." She pulled the Cloak over her head and left the Gryffindor tower, but not before paying a visit to her own trunk to fetch some parchment, a quill, and ink.

Hermione made her way to the owlery under the Cloak. When she got there, she sat on the cleanest patch of straw she could find and, without removing the Cloak, began to write.

An hour later, she was searching the roosted owls for the large black and white that had delivered the last two letters. Just as she was about to give up, thinking it was out hunting, the owl flew in through one of the windows. She grinned and tied the letter to the owl, which didn't seem the least bit surprised that a letter was attaching itself to her. She flew off at once, and Hermione left the owlery. She wandered the castle for a bit, and found herself near the Room of Requirement. She opened it and went inside. The room she found herself in was large and blue, with a window overlooking the lake. There was a large, soft bed and a plush armchair. One whole wall was taken up by books. She slid into the bed fully dressed and slept.

The next morning found her refreshed. She pulled the Invisibility Cloak back on and hurried to the Gryffindor common room, thankful that it was a Saturday and everyone was sleeping in. Or so she thought.

Pulling off the Cloak as she climbed through the portrait hole, she was confronted by Harry.

"Where were you?" He asked, worry plain on his face. "I thought you said you were going to the owlery! What were me and Ron supposed to think when Ginny came in this morning to say you hadn't come back? We went to the owlery and you weren't there. You've worried us all sick!" He stopped, noticing the look on Hermione's face. He sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't yell. I just worry about you. You're my best friend too, you know."

"It's okay. I deserve it. I just thought I'd be back before anyone woke up. I ended up in the Room of Requirement. It was a bedroom, so I stayed. Here's your Cloak," she handed it back to him and sat in one of the armchairs. "So, Ginny came to you this morning saying I wasn't here? She must've realized I'd left." She put her face in her hands. "Where are Ron and Ginny?" She asked.

"Out looking for you. I think Ginny went to the library and Ron went to the Great Hall. I told them to be back in ten minutes fifteen minutes ago, so they should be back soon." As Harry said this, the red-headed siblings came through the portrait hole.

"We couldn't find her, Har - Hermione!" Ron saw her sitting there, looking sheepish, and rushed to her side. He wrapped her up in a hug that almost crushed the air out of her lungs. Harry and Ginny goggled. Ron, realizing what he was doing, dropped her back in her chair at once and stepped back, face reddening. "Sorry," he mumbled. Then he remembered why he'd acted that way, and his face went stern. "Don't do that, Hermione. When there's a Slytherin you a hard time, you shouldn't disappear like that. Obviously we'll jump to the wrong conclusions." Hermione laughed.

"Ron, no one's bothering me. You want to know the truth?" He looked at her inquisitivly. "I've a pen pal." She said, chuckling at how simple she made it sound.

"More like a pen lover," Ginny put in. Ron spun to look at her, confused. Hermione nodded at Ginny's glance. She explained. "Hermione's been getting love letters from a mystery man." Ron sat down hard, jaw hanging open. He turned back to Hermione.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, looking a bit hurt.

"Well, I was still trying to take it in when you got angry with me. So I haven't really gotten a chance, have I?" She looked at Ginny. "I told Ginny because I knew she, being the best friend ever, would help me. Then I told Harry because Ginny wasn't here and I couldn't hold it in. So...I would've told you sooner, if you'd let me. And Harry only found out yesterday." Her eyes met Harry's. "Because of what happened at the library." She then told Ron everything. from the beginning. When she was done, Ron looked like he'd been hit by a truck.

"Wait. You're saying this guy's a Slytherin, his dad's a Death Eater, it could be Malfoy, and you don't care? And you two!" He rounded on Ginny and Harry. "Telling her it's okay! What is wrong with you people?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it," Ginny said defensively. "I'm the only one who's all for it. Hermione's afraid of it being Malfoy. Harry just said if that is who it turned out to be, he'd behave for Hermione's sake." She turned to her boyfriend. "Honestly, I don't think he likes the prospect of Malfoy sweeping Hermione off her feet." Harry shook his head.

"I don't like the thought of my worst enemy and best friend together. But it's like I told Hermione last night: she needs someone the way I need Gin. And if Draco Malfoy turns out to be what she needs, so be it. I won't keep her away from anyone she cares about for my sake. I'll find some way to be friends with him - or at least tolerate him - and deal with it." He looked at Ron. "And if you really care about her the way you said you did, you'll be happy for her no matter who she's with." Ron stared.

"You've all gone barmy. Completely mental. Hermione," he dropped to his knees in front of her. "Don't do this. You don't need some mystery guy. For all you know, this guy's a fraud. Or he's doing this as a joke. Come on, you're smarter than this. You deserve better than some Slytherin slime. Stop writing to him. He'll only end up hurting you, and I don't want to see that happen. I don't think I could bear watching you get your heart broken." The room had gone silent. Ron had all but confessed love for Hermione, and he'd certainly admitted to more emotion than he ever had in his life. His eyes pleaded with her to come to her senses, but Hermione had frozen.

"Ron, you're a git." Her hot chocolate eyes had gone cold and hard, her tone icy. "You don't think you could bear watching me get my heart broken by someone? Take a good look at the past six years, and see if you can figure out how many times you've done just that. You've done the breaking, and you've handled it just fine. You have no right to tell me who I do and don't deserve, who I can and can't have a relationship with. You've become a controlling person recently, someone I don't know, and I can't deal with that. No, it's not that I can't...I won't. So until you can accept that I am mature enough to handle myself and my affairs, you can stay the bloody hell out of my life." Her demeanor never broke the calm and cool, the cold fury she had never shown. She stood, pulled Ron gently to his feet, and pushed him out of her way. She left the Tower and headed for the Room of Requirement, leaving the others behind in a dazed, amazed confusion.

Three hours later, Hermione was pulled from her book by a soft knocking on the door of the Room of Requirement. She got up reluctantly. _I wish that door had a peephole so I could see who's out there._ Just as the thought entered her mind, a peephole sprouted at perfect eye-level for her. She peeked through and saw Ginny. She hesitated, then opened the door.

Ginny came in, looking around. The Room had again become the blue bedroom for Hermione, so like her one at home. Ginny nodded her approval, and noticed the wall of books. Her face split into a grin, and once again wondered at the Room's powers of perfection. Hermione spoke first.

"I'm sorry about the outburst. You and Harry shouldn't have had to listen to that." She apologized.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it an outburst," Ginny said casually. "But it was a very well contained emotional explosion. I've never seen you that angry. It was actually quite frightening, I was expecting you to turn around any second and curse him silly." She sank into the second armchair that had just grown out of the floor. "So. How are you now that you've cooled off?"

"I haven't, actually. I want to set a Bludger to his head." Hermione admitted. She sighed and rested her head in her hands. "Ginny, do you think I overreacted?"

"Not one bit! Everything you said to him, while incredibly harsh and just a tad cruel, was true. He's probably hurt you more than all the Slytherins combined. Compare how many times he's made you cry to how many times they've made you cry. You expect to be hurt by your enemies, not by your friends." Ginny said. "I'm with you a hundred and ten percent." Hermione looked up and smiled.

"Thanks, Gin."

"No problem." They were quiet for a minute. Then Hermione broke the silence.

"How is he? Ron, I mean?" She sounded more curious than worried. Ginny laughed.

"He's in the boys' dormitory crying his eyes out like a little schoolgirl. You should've seen the place when the rest of the guys woke up and saw him sobbing on Harry's shoulder." She saw the horrified look on Hermone's face and said quickly, "Don't feel bad. He deserved every bit of what you gave him."

"Maybe, but I didn't think I'd hurt him like that. I thought he'd get angry again. Oh, this is not what I wanted! I didn't want to hurt him, I just wanted him to get mad and then apologize! This is awful. I have to go and say I'm sorry. I never should have said any of that, it didn't make me feel better and it made him feel worse. It was wrong and totally out of line." She stood to leave, but Ginny sprang up and blocked the door. "Move Ginny! I have to go, I can't let him feel like this because of me!" Her voice quavered, and her eyes filled with tears.

"No. I can't let you go and ruin this. This is for the best, for you and him both. You're getting out of this early and he's getting a chance to change. You were right when you said he'd become controlling. He thinks it's for the other person's own good, but most of the time it isn't. He thinks he's helping, but he's not." Ginny said firmly. "Believe me, you're helping him by doing this. You're his reality check. Now he knows that all he does is interfere. He needs to sort outt some things, or he'll end up twisted." Hermione sat down again, this time on the bed. Ginny sat next to her. Hermione leaned on her and cried, knowing in her mind that her friend was right.

Hermione didn't return to Gryffindor Tower that weekend. In fact, she didn't leave the Room of Requirement for an entire week. Her only contact with the outside world was her Slytherin friend. Ginny, Harry, and even Ron once, came knocking on the door, but she wouldn't let them in. She wrote to _him_ instead, and he wrote back every day. Each letter contained worry, understanding and comfort. He was indulgent, too. Even though she told him the Room would take care of her, he sent wonderful books and sweets from Honeyduke's. He even managed to get Crookshanks in a basket and sent, along with his own owl, four more to get the cat to her. The only thing he refused her was a visit. She begged him with every letter to come to her, she offered to make him Polyjuice Potion to disguise him, but he wouldn't. He said it was better for them both that way.

He was the one who convinced her to return to class. He slowly broke through until he reached her senses, and told her how much work she was missing. When she admitted to a fear that Ron would try to confront her, he assured her that any class she had with Slytherin she would be safe in, and as for the others...she had Harry, right? The day she told him she would come back, he sent her a note saying only: _Good luck. If he tries anything I'll jinx him._

Therapist? Me?

Later that night he was woken by Lec'ita dropping a roll of parchment on his head. Rubbing the sore spot, he unrolled the letter and read Hermione's words of confusion and curiosity. He smiled as he read her reaction to their library encounter (_I don't know what he's trying to pull, but just tell me if he knows about these letters so I can put it out of my mind._) and wrote back immediately, assuring her that Draco Malfoy did in fact know about the letters, and went back to sleep.

The next morning, he got up early and went to the library. It was a Saturday, but Hermione was a bookworm if there ever was one, so it was a safe bet she'd be there. Instead, he found a worried looking Ginny Weasley. Before he could do anything, she'd run up to him.

"Okay, you know I hate your slimy guts and would never ask you for help, but have you seen Hermione? It's important, she went to the Owlery last night and never came back." Draco shook his head.

"Haven't seen the Mug - the know-it-all." He said, and saw the frustration in Ginny's eyes.

"Well, ley us know if you do, okay? Consider it paying your debt." And she flounced out of the library in huff. Draco chuckled at her temper, and left the library to go look for Hermione. Twenty minutes later, he saw her storming down the hall ahead of him. He jogged to catch up with her and barely saw her disappear into the Room of Requirement. _What the bloody hell?_ He tried the door, knowing it wouldn't open for him. Then he headed up to the seventh floor. He wasn't sure where, but he knew the Gryffindor common room was around there somewhere. Sure enough, he came across Potter up there and stopped him.

"Hey, your girlfriend told me to let you guys know if I saw your brainiac friend. She was in the Room of Requirement." To his surprise, Harry smiled at him.

"Thanks, Draco. Ron pissed her off something awful. She told him off and broke his heart without even raising her voice. Mind you, he deserved it..." And with that, Harry left Draco standing in the middle of corridor without a clue as to what was going on. Confused and worried, Draco returned to his own common room and wrote Hermione a simple letter asking if she was okay. He got a reply not five minutes later telling him that she hated Ronald Weasley, the slimy git. He smiled as he asked her why, and again got a quick reply. Apparently, Hermione had told her three best friends everything about the letters and Ron was the only one who didn't approve. She told him that Ron had tried to tell her how to handle her personal life and she'd promptly told him to stay out of it until he could accept that she could take care of herself. He wrote her back, telling her he was sorry she had to go through something like that where one of her best friends was involved, and her next reply asked him to come visit her. He gently denied, and did so every time after that.

Hermione didn't come to class for a week, but she wrote to him every day. She poured out her heart, and he learned more about her in that week than he'd been able to learn in six years. More than one letter came to him tearstained. She told him everything. And he replied with care and comfort. He sent her things he thought she'd like; he snuck to Hogsmeade several times to get her Honeyduke's sweets and books from the village bookshop, called Farthing's Books. He found her cat wandering about on the grounds on Teusday and got him in a basket. It took five owls to carry that fat orange puffball, but the genuine joy in her words was worth it. Every letter he wrote, he put in a little more about the classes she was missing, until on Friday he flat out begged her to come back. When she told him that she was afraid of Weasel, he was furious. He wrote back to her, telling her that any class she had with the Slytherins she'd be safe in. All her other classes, she had Harry to help her. Because he seriously doubted Harry would sit back and watch Weasel do anything to hurt Hermione. When she wrote back, agreeing to come to class Monday, he rejoiced. He spent the weekend practicing jinxes and hexes to use on the Weasel. Monday morning, he sent Hermione a note telling her that he was there for her and that he was ready to jinx Ron in a second. Then he packed his things and went to Transfiguration.

_A/N: I know, Hermione's chapter was a bit on the long side, but more happened to her here, really...but don't worry, at some point I'm sure Draco will have an extra-long bit! Sorry of the uneveness, if it annoys you go ahead and put it in a review. I'm working on keeping them pretty even, but this time it just got a little outta hand... ;p_


	8. Chapter 8

Completely Insane...

Hermione went to Transfiguration that day with dread in her heart. She really didn't want to face Ron, but if she didn't come back to class she'd fail her seventh year. She couldn't have that. She got to the door of the classroom and stopped. _Don't be a coward, _she thought. _Just open the door._ She slipped quietly in, and looked around. Harry and Ron were sitting together in the middle of the class. Harry caught sight of her and smiled encouragingly. She wanted dearly to sit with him, but Ron's glare was enough to keep her away. She breezed past them and sat in the middle of the Slytherins. They muttered and looked at her darkly, but no one said anything to her, so she set up her things and stared determindly forward. She knew Harry was probably worried about her, but looking over and seeing Ron's face again would only hurt her. So she tried to make herself comfortable in this metephorical lion's den.

The class went fairly well; it was a practical lesson, so there was a lot to keep her mind busy. By the time it ended she was actually quite happy that she'd decided to come back to class. She silently thanked her Slytherin suitor. She bagan packing up, thinking about her next class: Ancient Runes. More specifically, she was thinking about someone in her Ancient Runes class. Any thought of Draco Malfoy nowadays sent shivers up her spine, but they weren't bad. It made her logical mind search for a reason why this was so. Walking out of the classroom deep in thought, a loud shout brought her back to Earth.

"Oi, Weasel, what was that for?!" Draco Malfoy was yelling at someone behind her. She turned around and saw Ron with his wand pointing at Draco.

"You're a right foul git, Malfoy. You know that?" He retorted. Before she realized what she was doing, Hermione had dropped her things and stepped in front of Malfoy, pulling out her own wand. She was surprisingly calm.

"Ronald, don't make me curse you. I really don't want to." Then she thought about everything she'd gone through because of him. "Actually..." She heard Malfoy chuckling behind her, but she took no notice. Ron stared at her in amazement, and in that moment Harry caught up and snatched his wand from him, his face furious. Hermione put her own wand away and Professor McGonagall came hurrying towards them.

"What is going on here?" She asked, her tone severe. Hermione smiled pleasantly.

"Nothing, Professor. Weasley and I were arguing and Draco here got caught in the middle." McGonagall looked like she didn't believe this story, but as Harry had dragged Ron towards the grounds for Care of Magical Creatures she couldn't really do anything. She spun on her heel and disappeared back into her classroom. Hermione sighed and turned to pick up her bag, but Malfoy was already holding it out to her.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"No, thank you. Although I ought to be standing up for you. Slytherins were told to give you Class-A protection." He smirked, like he knew something she didn't. Before she could ask any questions he had spoken again. "So, off to Ancient Runes. I'll escort you." He started to walk off.

They made their way through the castle in silence. She stole a glance at him every minute or so, but he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, so she didn't say anything. They got to class without a single insult passing between them.

Professor Babbling started putting the class into pairs.

"Abbot and Chang...Finch-Fletchley and Vane..." Hermione's attention drifted to the crazy plan forming in her head. Logical Hermione and (in her own opinion) Frighteningly Crazy Hermione argued in her mind. _It'll never work. Ah, but it could, if I play it right. No, no, you are truely going insane and if you try this he'll laugh in your face and be no better off than you were before, and humiliated to boot._ This internal war was broken up by Babbling's voice saying, "And that leaves Granger and Malfoy." The two looked at each other and then dropped their gazes quickly.

Professor Babbling explained that they were just reviewing, so all they had to do was basically pass notes in runes. Hermione dug a quill, ink, and a roll of parchment out of her bag, and before she could talk herself out of it she scribbled a hasty, _Are you ready to pay your debt? _She shoved it across the table to Malfoy before she changed her mind. She watched him read it with raised eyebrows. When he replied with, _What do you have in mind? _she told him about her situation. Living in the Room of Requirement, it could become anything she wanted it to be. If she made another bedroom and a common room, would he be interested in moving in with her to keep Ron away from her? She hesitated before giving him this note; she was taking a big step and she wasn't even entirely sure she wanted this. But a reckless mood had siezed her, and she passed it to him wordlessly. She saw the shock pass over Draco's face before he smirked and wrote back.

_And why would I do that Granger? _Now it was her turn to smirk. She'd noticed his lone wolf status of late, and pointed this out along with the fact that he owed her, he'd said himself he was supposed to protect her, and he hated Ron enough to jump at this chance to do something to him with no consequences. She waited on edge for his reply. The bell rang and he sprang up, writing down his answer before he hurried away from her. _When do I move in? _Hermione smiled. Score one for Frighteningly Crazy Hermione.

Wish Granted

Draco walked into the Transfiguration classroom and sat down. He was the first to class, again. Ever since he'd cut ties with the rest of his Slytherin 'friends' he'd really had nothing to do with his time but schoolwork and Hermione. He wasn't lonely, Hermione was enough for him. He was happier lately, too. Now that he didn't have to pretend as much, he felt freed from his charade. He waited for everyone else to show up. When Hermione walked in last, and sat on the Slytherin side of the room only a seat in front of him, he was elated. He shot a quick glance at Potter and Weasley and saw that Harry looked worried but calm, whereas Weasel-Bee looked furious and ready to cry. _Wouldn't that be delicious? Finally seeing him get what he deserved._ The whole class he watched Hermione out of the corner of his eye. She seemed a little uneasy sitting with her enemies, but handled herself better than he would've in her position. At the end of class, when everyone was leaving, he was walking behind Hermione when something hit him hard in the back. He spun around and saw Weasel standing there, furious, with his wand out.

"Oi, Weasel, what was that for?!" He shouted indignantly. Behind him, Hermione stopped and turned around.

"You're a right foul git, Malfoy. You know that?" Ron shouted. Draco opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione dropped her things and stepped in front of him. Standing squarely in between him and the red-headed Gryffindor, she calmly pulled out her wand.

"Ronald, don't make me curse you. I really don't want to." She paused. "Actually..." Draco chuckled at that. He'd have already done it. He marveled at her self-control. Ron gaped at her, but by that time Harry had caught up to them and snatched Ron's wand away from him. McGonagall ran up as Hermione was putting her own wand away.

"What is going on here?" She demanded.

"Nothing, Professor. Weasley and I were arguing and Draco here got caught in the middle," Hermione answered. McGonagall didn't look too convinced, but there wasn't much she could do since Harry had dragged Ron off to Care of Magical Creatures. She returned to her classroom and Hermione bent down to pick up her bag, but Draco was already holding it out to her. "Thanks." She said.

"No, thank you. Although I ought to be standing up for you. Slytherins were told to give you Class-A protection." He smirked. It wasn't a lie, exactly. He'd put up a notice in the common room about it and signed it with Dumbledore's name. "So, off to Ancient Runes. I'll escort you." He walked with her to the Ancient Runes classroom in silence. It was fine with him. He didn't know what to say anyway. When they sat down, Professor Babbling put them in pairs. He and Hermione were put together. Secret celebration in his mind, and he listened to the assignment.

"Alright, you lot, in your pairs you are going to test each other on the different Rune sets we've learned so far this term. I don't care what you write, just write it in Runes and translate. I don't want to see these, they won't be graded. This is just review. Get started." Draco and Hermione pulled out quill, ink and parchment. Hermione scribbled a question, and Draco translated it. It read: _Are you ready to pay your debt?_ He looked at her, but she was staring out the window. He wrote: _What do you have in mind?_ She took it from him and wrote her plan. She was staying in the Room of Requirement, she had Ginny help her move her things from the girls' dormitory to her room. If she wanted it to, it would become a three-room place. There could be two bedrooms and a common room. She wanted to know if he'd be willing to move in with her and make sure Ron didn't bother her.

_And why would I do that Granger? _He asked, barely containing his excitement at the prospect of living with her. She smirked. _Well, I've noticed that you don't really have any friends in Slytherin anymore, and you've been told to protect me...not to mention you owe me. Besides, you hate Weasley so much you ought to be jumping at this chance to possibly hex his socks off. _Draco pretended to be thinking about the offer as Hermione watched his face. Just as the bell was ringing to leave class, he jotted a short answer, trying not to seem to happy about it: _When do I move in?_


	9. Chapter 9

Ponderings & Worry

Over the next week, Hermione helped Draco move into the new bedroom next to hers. She also stuck close to him that week, partnering with him in class and staying close to where he was at all times. The first night he spent in the Room, though, she laid down the rules.

"You won't bother me while I'm studying, you aren't coming in my room unless I say so, and you can't bring anyone back here to shag." She frowned as he laughed at her. "What? If that's too hard for you to do, then leave." He was still laughing.

"No, you don't get it," he said, calming down a little. "You said yourself I don't have many friends. Who do you think I'm going to bring back here?" She frowned.

"I don't know! I know nothing about your personal life, and for all I know you could be one of those guys that doesn't even care if he knows a girl before he sleeps with her." She felt herself go a bit pink as he dropped his happy manner abruptly. He looked at her very seriously then.

"Hey, now. That hurts. I think you should love someone before you do anything like that." She was taken aback. Draco Malfoy, a sensitive lover? She didn't drop her reproving tone though.

"Well, are you in love with anyone at the moment?" She asked him. She felt a funny squirming somewhere in her belly when he answered.

"Well...yes. But she doesn't love me back and never will." He sounded like he was in pain, but he cleared his throat and looked perfectly normal. Hermione thought about Ginny's wonderings about Malfoy being her admirer. She pushed away her own ponderings and spat out something to lighten the mood.

"Right then. Good to know I won't be woken in the middle of the night by bangs and thuds from your room." She grinned, and disappeared into her room to write Ginny and Harry a letter explaining what was going on.

Over the next few weeks, she wrote to her mysterious friend and felt the seed of a friendship sprout between her and Draco. This confused and annoyed her, so while she helped him with homework and waited for him after class sometimes she didn't try to start any deep conversations. She wanted to, but was certain he'd just say something nasty and leave it at that. Her fear of rejection had taken over. She annoyed herself sometimes.

One day after Potions, Snape called Draco to his desk. Hermione waited at the door, but was pushed out the door by the Potions Master's oily dismissal. She wandered towards the Ancient Runes classroom wondering what Snape wanted. She was so worried about Draco she didn't register that she'd never worried about him before...

More Encouragment

Draco spent the next week moving his things quietly to the Room of Requirement so that no one noticed he was gone until he was...well, gone. He and Hermione had also started partnering up in their classes. He rather enjoyed playing the 'protector', even though he secretly thought Hermione didn't need one. The first day he actually spent living with her she laid down the rules. No bothering her while she was studying, no coming in her room, and absolutely no shagging. The last one he laughed out loud.

"What?" She asked angrily. "If that's too hard for you to do, then leave."

"No, you don't get it," he chuckled. "You said yourself I don't have many friends. Who do you think I'm going to bring back here?" She frowned.

"I don't know! I know nothing about your personal life, and for all I know you could be one of those guys that doesn't even care if he knows a girl before he sleeps with her." Draco stopped laughing.

"Hey, now. That hurts. I think you should love someone before you do anything like that." He shoved away the very male ideas he got at that moment. _No, I respect her too much to think of her like that. If it ever got that far, it would be her decision. _

"Well, are you in love with anyone at the moment?" She asked pointedly.

"Well...yes. But she doesn't love me back and never will." He was sure she could hear the pain in his voice and cleared his throat. A strange look crossed Hermione's face, but she cleared it away quickly.

"Right then. Good to know I won't be woken in the middle of the night by bangs and thuds from your room." She smiled wryly and left him sitting in the common room.

Over the next few months, they kept exchanging letters. He made himself wait though, so as not to arouse suspicion. That was the last thing he needed right now. He always waited at least twenty minutes before he began even writing the reply. It frustrated him, but it kept the spotlight off him, so he did it. He was thankful, though, that Lec'ita seemed to be smart enough not to just fly out of Hermione's door and into his own. She always came through his window, and for that he gave her extra helpings of his breakfast.

It was going well. He could almost consider Hermione a friend, and hoped she felt the same towards him. Sure, they never really talked, but she helped him with schoolwork and waited for him after class. It was all going fine until Snape held him back after Potions one day.

"Mr. Malfoy, I'd like to talk to you for a moment. Ms. Granger, go on to Ancient Runes, I'm sure he'll catch up." Hermione, looking uncertain, left the classroom. Draco turned to Snape.

"What is it, Professor?"

"It has been brought to my attention that you are no longer living in the Slytherin Dungeon." Snape began, his silky voice hinting at a question. Draco gulped.

"I - well, you see, sir - I've moved out." He stuttered. He wasn't afraid of Severus Snape, and he knew he wouldn't care about his living with Hermione, but he wasn't sure if it was allowed - not living in his own House. Snape smiled.

"Obviously. You aren't in trouble, Draco. I only want to know where you are staying." He said. "I won't tell the Headmaster or anyone else. I just want to make sure I know where to find you if anything happens."

"I'm in the Room of Requirement, Professor, with Hermione." Draco knew the last bit wasn't necessary, but he said it anyway. Snape raised his eyebrows. Draco flushed. "It's not like that, sir. She got in a fight with one of her friends and moved out of Gryffindor Tower. She asked me if I would move in with her to make sure he left her alone. I owed her a favor." Draco explained.

"Very well. Just as long as your work continues to be excellent, I suppose it's okay. You are dismissed." Draco picked up his bags and made it to the door before Snape called to him. "Draco? Good luck catching the girl."


	10. Chapter 10

Ron's Attack

Draco slid into the seat next the her as class started. She glanced at him sideways before asking him anything, but he looked okay.

"What did Snape want?" She whispered, curious and worried at the same time.

"Not much. He wanted to know where I was living since I'm not in Slytherin Dungeon anymore. So I told him I was living in the Room of Requirement." She stared at him. He'd said it so matter-of-factly, like it was no big deal.

"How much trouble did you get in?" She asked. She hoped it wasn't much. He was helping her, but could he still get in trouble for it? Apparently not.

"None, actually. He said as long as my grades don't drop, it's fine and he won't tell Dumbledore or my father." She couldn't help sighing with relief. She hadn't gotten him into trouble. A dark look passed over his face as she watched, and she wondered if it had to do with Dumbledore or his father. She opened her mouth to ask him, but a test was plopped in front of her face by Professor Babbling and she abandoned the thought.

After dinner she was in the common room studying when someone knocked on the door. She stood up and looked through the peephole. Ginny was standing in the corridor, fidgeting. Hermione smiled and let her in.

"Hey Ginny. What's up?" Seeing her best friend always cheered her up. Ginny didn't seem too happy, though.

"Hermione, I wish you would come back to Gryffindor Tower. It's lonely without you, and I miss you." Ginny said, a strange hollowness in her voice. Hermione laughed; she couldn't help it.

"Gin, I see you every day. The only time I don't see you is during class, really." Ginny shook her head, eyes squeezed shut.

"Hermione, I'm not Ginny." As the words left her mouth, Ginny looked Hermione in the eye. Indeed, Ginny's eyes, such a vivid sapphire normally, had a touch of green to them. Hermione felt the smile slip off her face.

"What do you mean you're not Ginny?" She asked, unease bubbling inside her. The person standing in front of her paused, like they didn't want to tell her but at the same time did want to. Then she (_Or is she even a she?_) answered Hermione.

"I mean I'm Ron. I had Dean and Seamus help me brew up more Polyjuice Potion, and well, here I am. Please don't be angry. I knew you'd never let me in if I was me. I've been standing outside your door for almost an hour, I had to work up the courage to knock. I did what I had to." Ron looked around. Hermione felt like someone had closed the passageways to her lungs. "You did a good job with this Room. It looks nice. You've got a common room, a bedroom, and a library?" Hermione didn't bother answering him; if Harry and the real Ginny hadn't told Ron about Draco she sure wasn't.

"Ronald Weasley, leave right now or you'll regret it." She reached into her robes for her wand - then realized it was up in her room. She panicked, and was about to run for the stairs when Draco appeared at her side, wand drawn.

"You really will regret it." She could hear the hatred in his voice, and wondered if Draco would dare to seriously injure Ron at Hogwarts. Ron's face twisted into a look of pure loathing.

"What's he doing here, Hermione?" He demanded. "What's Draco Malfoy doing living with you?" He wasn't completely stupid, after all. She didn't realize she was shaking until she reached a hand up to push her hair out of her face. She spoke as calmly as she could, Draco still pointing his wand at Ron's chest.

"Ronald, calm down. He's here because of you. I asked him to be here so you'd leave me the bloody hell alone." Ron's eyes flickered to Draco's face, and whatever he saw there infuriated him to a breaking point.

"STUPEFY!" Hermione watched the red jets of light leave his wand, felt the violent shove from Draco, and fell over. Next she knew she was hanging half off the couch, eyes staring at the ceiling. She couldn't move. Why couldn't she move? Then she realized: Ron had just Stunned her. She heard Malfoy's voice, and then his face appeared over her.

"Ennervate." She slumped to the floor and landed in Draco's lap, his arm around her shoulders. "Are you okay?" She was already struggling to get up, and missed the concern in his voice.

"Of course, I'm fine, let go of me," she snapped. She let him help her stand, then took a step towards the stairs but felt herself lose balance. Draco caught her again, and this time she saw the worry in his face. She softened. "Actually, I think I hit my head when I fell." She let him steer her to the couch and sat down. She could do nothing but watch and hope she didn't have to clean up blood. Draco faced Ron, and she watched interestedly as he seemed to try to relax himself. His body still rigid, his voice hard, Draco's next words startled her.

"It's time for you to leave, Weasley. I don't want to hurt you in front of Hermione. Don't come back or I won't control myself." Ron looked back and forth between them for a moment, then snarled and jumped out the door. Hermione heard Draco whisper, "_Arachnellegra,_" then watched with horror turning to amusement as a huge spider flew from Draco's wand and followed Ron. The door slammed shut right after it caught up with him and started dancing with him. She and Draco burst into peals of laughter.

"That was brilliant," Hermione said a few minutes later. "I wish I'd done it." She wiped her face - she'd laughed so hard she started crying. Draco looked at her sternly.

"Well, you could've if you'd had your wand. Don't go anywhere without it from now on. If I hadn't been here you would've been stuck with him." This thought seemed to bother him, and Hermione found that puzzling.

"Stop talking like that, Draco. I might start thinking you actually care." She stood, hoping she wouldn't fall again. Fortunately, she had Draco to help her. He placed a gentle hand on her arm and helped her up the stairs to her room. She sat on the bed, watching Draco take his first look at where she lived. She noticed with a funny jolt in her stomach that his eyes lingered on the books that _he _had sent, the week she skipped class. She'd put them on her desk instead of on a shelf. It had just seemed a more appropriate place for them; he and they had helped her through a hard time. She dropped her gaze as he looked back at her. "Thanks, by the way." She whispered. Her voice seemed to have left her. The silence stretched on, until Draco sat on the bed next to her.

"It was nothing. Besides, that's what I'm here for." His voice was soft, and more gentle than she'd ever heard it. "Are you sure you're okay?" He seemed genuinely concerned about her, and that made her smile even as the tears started again.

"I just never thought Ron would do something like that. I mean, we've been friends for six years. I used to wish he'd pay more attention to me. Now I just wish he'd leave me alone. How did we end up like this?" She broke down, her pride and dignity forgotten. Ron had been such a big part of her world, her life, her..._self_, and now he was a black stain that couldn't be washed away. It tore her up inside. Draco, thankfully, just sat there and let her cry. He didn't fidget around like he was uncomfortable with her outburst, but he didn't touch her to try to comfort her, either. He just let her cry it out. That was what she needed, and she felt grateful for it. When she'd calmed down a little, and was no longer sobbing, he finally said something.

"If it makes you feel better, he was aiming for me." She smiled at him then, sadly, and realized that she had lost Ron in time to find another friend.

"For some reason, it doesn't." She said it more to herself than him, and he stood as her mind began to drift.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to Madam Pomfery, or should I just leave you alone for a while?" She felt him watching her as she thought about it. On one hand, she wanted him to stay there with her. On the other, she really needed to think about what had just happened. She also wanted to write to her mystery Slytherin friend, get his opinion on the mess. She made her descision.

"I'll just sleep some, and if I don't feel better in the morning then I'll go to see Madam Pomfery." She meant it, too. She was feeling a bit light-headed again. Draco nodded, his normally icy grey eyes pools of warmth. He turned and left her there, and she waited until she heard his bedroom door close before she shut her own. She sat down at her desk and wrote down everything that had happened and all her mixed-up feelings towards Draco Malfoy. The black and white owl showed up just as she finished writing, like it had sensed her need. When Hermione saw the owl, she smiled and attached the letter to its leg and watched it fly off around the castle. She lay down on her bed fully dressed and fell to sleep.

Protecting Hermione

"What did Snape want?" Hermione asked as he slid into his seat in Ancient Ruins.

"Not much. He wanted to know where I was living since I'm not in Slytherin Dungeon anymore. So I told him I was living in the Room of Requirement." Hermione's eyes widened.

"How much trouble did you get in?" She asked.

"None, actually. He said as long as my grades don't drop, it's fine and he won't tell Dumbledore or my father." At the thought of his father knowing he was living with a Muggle-born, he felt like ice cubes had dropped into his stomach. He didn't care what his father did to him, but if he ever found out, what would he do to Hermione? The thought made him feel sick. He shook himself mentally and brought his focus back to Hermione. She was looking at him with a puzzled expression, as if she'd seen something she hadn't expected. She opened her mouth to say something, but the bell rang and Professor Babbling was passing out their tests.

Hours later, after dinner, Draco was sitting in his room when he heard a loud knocking. He peeked out of his door and watched as Hermione peered through the peephole, smiled, and opened the door. The Weasley girl stepped in.

"Hey Ginny. What's up?" She asked brightly. Draco sat just outside his door, out of sight of the two girls, and watched them.

"Hermione, I wish you would come back to Gryffindor Tower. It's lonely without you, and I miss you." Ginny said. Hermione laughed.

"Gin, I see you every day. The only time I don't see you is during class, really." But the usually cheery Ginny shook her head morosely.

"Hermione, I'm not Ginny." Draco sat up straight. _What in Merlin's name is going on?_ He pulled out his wand and stood up, ready to sprint down the stairs to the common room at any second. He watched Hermione's smile drop.

"What do you mean you're not Ginny?" She asked slowly.

"I mean I'm Ron. I had Dean and Seamus help me brew up more Polyjuice Potion, and well, here I am. Please don't be angry. I knew you'd never let me in if I was me. I've been standing outside your door for almost an hour, I had to work up the courage to knock. I did what I had to." Draco stood, rooted to the spot, as Ron looked around. "You did a good job with this Room. It looks nice. You've got a common room, a bedroom, and a library?" He guessed. Hermione didn't acknowledge it.

"Ronald Weasley, leave right now or you'll regret it." Draco watched her put her hand in her robes to draw her wand, watched the panicked look cross her face, and realized at the same time she did that she didn't have it. That was enough for him. He raced down the stairs and stood beside her, wand pointing at Ron's chest.

"You really will regret it." He said venomously. The furious look on Weasel's face was glorious.

"What's he doing here, Hermione?" He demanded. "What's Draco Malfoy doing living with you?" Hermione was shaking, but when she spoke her voice was steady.

"Ronald, calm down. He's here because of you. I asked him to be here so you'd leave me the bloody hell alone." Draco smirked at Ron. Ron snapped.

"STUPEFY!" Ron yelled. Draco tried to push Hermione out of the way, but the spell hit her dead on. She fell over, landing half on the couch, half on the floor. Draco turned to face Ron, his ice grey eyes pools of fury.

"Oh, you'll pay for that." He murmered softly. He knelt down by Hermione's still figure and pointed his wand at her chest. "Ennervate." Hermione's now relaxed body slid to the floor, and he caught her. "Are you okay?" He asked, worried that Ron's spell had somehow harmed her.

"Of course, I'm fine, let go of me," she snapped. He couldn't help but be amused. He let her stand up, but caught her again as she tipped slightly to the left. "Actually, I think I hit my head when I fell." She muttered, more to herself than him. He sat her down on the couch and spun around to face Ron. _Focus...he's still Hermione's friend._ He calmed himself down and was pleased to see that the Weasel looked horrified at what he'd done.

"It's time for you to leave, Weasley. I don't want to hurt you in front of Hermione. Don't come back or I won't control myself." He said, his voice dripping acid. Ron looked from him to Hermione, and when she didn't say anything he snarled and left. Draco couldn't resist. As Ron went through the door, his whispered, "_Arachnellegra._" And a five-foot spider burst from his wand, followed Ron on four of its back legs, caught up with him and spun him around in a weird sort of waltz. Draco and Hermione burst into laughter as the door swung shut.

"That was brilliant," Hermione panted a few minutes later. Tears were leaking from her eyes as she tried to control her laughter. "I wish I'd done it."

"Well, you could've if you'd had your wand." Draco said, suddenly serious. "Don't go anywhere without it from now on. If I hadn't been here you would've been stuck with him." _And who knows what would've happened? I want to hurt him for what he did just now, but if I hadn't been here and she'd made him mad, it could've been worse. _He was so scared of her getting hurt. Hermione was looking at him thoughtfully.

"Stop talking like that, Draco. I might start thinking you actually care." She stood up slowly, testing her balance. He reached out and gently took her arm, then guided her up the stairs to her room. It was a soft blue, with a wall of books. He noticed with a funny jolt in his stomach that the books he'd sent her were in a place of honor on her desk. "Thanks, by the way." She whispered, not looking at him. He stared at her for a long minute.

"It was nothing. Besides, that's what I'm here for." He sat her down on the bed. "Are you sure you're okay?" She smiled, and this time the tears were bitter.

"I just never thought Ron would do something like that. I mean, we've been friends for six years. I used to wish he'd pay more attention to me. Now I just wish he'd leave me alone. How did we end up like this?" He let her cry for a bit before he said,

"If it makes you feel better, he was aiming for me." Hermione smiled, a beautifully sad thing.

"For some reason, it doesn't." She murmered, her voice distant. She looked like she needed alone time, so Draco took a step for the door.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to Madam Pomfery, or should I just leave you alone for a while?" He asked. He watched her think about it for a minute before deciding.

"I'll just sleep some, and if I don't feel better in the morning then I'll go to see Madam Pomfery." He nodded, and went to his own room. He plunked down on his black oak bed, staring at the green walls in thought. That was the most Hermione had ever opened up to him. At least, when she'd known it was him. An hour or so later, Lec'ita flew through the window with a letter. He smiled.


	11. Chapter 11

After Hogwarts?

The next day Hermione and Draco made a plan to find a portrait in the castle that would be willing to be a password portrait for their door. They searched high and low, in every nook and cranny on every floor until they settled on a group of monks that hadn't left their own portrait in years. She had a lot of fun with him, and they joked and talked like they'd been friends for ever. They lugged the heavy frame to the Room of Requirement's door, and propped it against the wall.

"How do we get it over the door?" Draco asked.

"Like this..._Temporarius Adhaereo!_" She said the words while tracing the back of the frame. Then with a well-performed _Wingardium Leviosa_, she levitated the monks onto the wall over the door. Draco gazed at her in amazement. "What?" She laughed.

"Nothing...you just know everything, don't you?" He shook his head and smiled. "Well go on. Set the password."

"Fine." She had thought about it all day. She looked at the monks and said, "The password is loyalty. Only me and Draco here can change it, okay?" The monks nodded, and let them in. Draco went to his room and Hermione wrote to Harry and Ginny, telling them the password and to come visit. Ten minutes later they showed up.

Christmas drew nearer and Hermione, Ginny, and Herry spent a lot of time together in the common room. Hermione invited Draco to join them, and he usually did. They talked about everything, and when they were wondering what they were going to do after Hogwarts, Draco surprised them all.

"I want to become an Auror." He said it quietly, like he felt embarassed about it, or even shy. The three Gryffindors stared at him. Ginny spoke first.

"How can you do that? You're gonna be a - "

"Don't say Death Eater." He cut her off, and paused. "Lucious Malfoy can take that father-to-son tradition to hell with him." Hermione shot a look at Ginny, and saw that Ginny was looking at her too. They were thinking the same thing: _I don't want to follow my father's footsteps and become a Death Eater... _They broke the gaze in time to hear Harry respond.

"Well, I think that's great. I want to be an Auror too, so maybe we could work together." Draco looked up sharply and seemed to be studying Harry's face for signs of mocking. Finding none, he smiled. Harry turned to the girls. "So what do you want to do? Ginny, Hermione?" Ginny looked at Hermione, and she nodded to let her go first.

"I want to teach. Defense Against the Dark Arts. I think I'd be good at it." She said thoughtfully, and turned to Hermione. "What about you?"

"Well, I'm not really sure. Maybe become a librarian. Or a teacher." She knew Harry and Ginny were rolling their eyes, but it didn't bother her. It was a predictable route, for her. Draco found it amusing too.

"You could teach Ancient Runes." His tone was casual, but Hermione could hear the mischief behind the guise. She laughed.

"I was thinking Muggle Studies, you know, because I'm Muggle-born. I could help students so much better than a pure-blooded witch or wizard. Unless you've grown up in an entirely Muggle environment, you can't really teach it well." It was true. The time she'd spent being taught Muggle Studies by Professor Burbage, who was a pure-blood, had taught her that. There were many things she'd had to correct the dear woman on, and half the time _she'd_ been explaining things to _her_. The others nodded in agreement, and she smiled. For the time being, she was at peace.

_How long can this paradise last?_

(Not So) Dark Secret

After the incident with Ron, Draco and Hermione agreed they needed a password portrait instead of a regular door. Interviewing the portraits in the castle was quite amusing; they ended up with a group of monks that had been hiding on the third floor. They were so excited about having a job after all those years of being neglected they agreed right away. Draco and Hermione moved the frame in front of the door to the Room and Hermione attatched it to the wall with a temporary Sticking Charm. They set the password (loyalty) and gave it only to Harry and Ginny. As the Christmas holidays drew nearer, the three Gryffindors spent a lot of time in the common room. They invited Draco to join them once in a while; he did so, feeling awkward at first but easing up as time went on. _It's like...they accept me._ He knew it was probably because Hermione had told them to, but it still made him feel good. So, when they had been having an animated talk about what they were all going to do after Hogwarts, he admitted to his deepest secret.

"I want to become an Auror." His words were met with silence.

"How can you do that?" Ginny asked. "You're gonna be a - "

"Don't say Death Eater. Lucious Malfoy can take that father-to-son tradition to hell with him." He said. After a what felt like hours of silence, Harry spoke.

"Well, I think that's great. I want to be an Auror too, so maybe we could work together." Draco looked at him appreciatively. As he looked up he caught a glance pass between the two girls, but he ignored it. "So what do you want to do? Ginny, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I want to teach. Defense Against the Dark Arts. I think I'd be good at it." Ginny said thoughtfully. She turned to Hermione. "What about you?"

"Well, I'm not really sure." She answered slowly. "Maybe become a librarian. Or a teacher."

"You could teach Ancient Runes," Draco said casually. Hermione laughed.

"I was thinking Muggle Studies, you know, because I'm Muggle-born. I could help students so much better than a pure-blooded witch or wizard. Unless you've grown up in an entirely Muggle environment, you can't really teach it well." The other three nodded in agreement.

_I have friends that know me._


	12. Chapter 12

Family Death

Christmas was not far off. Hermione was trying to decide whether or not to go home for the holidays when Professor McGonagall called her to her desk before she could finish packing to leave Transfiguration. Hermione hurried to the front of the desk, noticing that Draco, Harry, and Ron had all stopped at the door. Harry and Draco she could understand waiting for her, but what was Ron doing? _Oh, well, it doesn't matter. As long as he doesn't start trouble. _McGonagall peered over her shoulder at the trio waiting for her at the door, and Hermione expected her to tell them to clear off. Instead, to her surprise, she called them up too.

"Alright, boys, you should probably be here. She'll need your support." Her tone was none too cheerful, and it made Hermione worry. Draco stepped up and stood beside her, and she could feel the presence of Harry and Ron behind her.

"What, did she fail a test or something?" That was Ron. She rolled her eyes. He'd been treating her like a Slytherin since she had let Draco set a spider on him. She ignored it most of the time.

"Shut up, Ron!" Harry was angry, and he sounded tense, too. "It's bigger than that, isn't it Professor?" McGonagall looked at Hermione, not paying any attention to Harry.

"Hermione, sit down, dear." Hermione was shocked; her Professor had never called her by her first name, much less 'dear', but she sat. Draco sat beside her, and Harry behind. Ron sat by Harry. _Probably wants to laugh at whatever's happening. _Hermione waited for McGonagall to tell her the bad news.

"Your parents...have been killed by Death Eaters."

Hermione had just enough time to register the sorrow on the Transfiguration teacher's face before the world went black.

When her eyes fluttered open, Hermione found herself lying on a soft, white bed. _Why am I in the Hospital Wing?_ She looked around; Harry and Ginny were sitting beside her bed. Ginny's eyes met hers, and she put a finger to her lips before pointing at the door. For the first time, Hermone noticed the loud voices outside. It sounded like Draco and Ron were arguing with Professor McGonagall about something, and with each other too.

"What were you thinking, telling her something like that straight to her face without warning?" Ron's voice.

"Well, I had to tell her before she read about it in the _Prophet_, didn't I? How would you have done it?" McGonagall retorted. Then the memory hit Hermione like a truck: her parents were dead. She pushed the thought away before it could swallow her up and engulf her in grief. Outside, the conversation wasn't over.

"Who did this? Who killed Hermione's parents?" Hermione recognized Draco's cold voice with the familiar jolt in her stomach. Tears sprang to her eyes and slipped down her cheeks.

"You don't care. You just want to know which of your little Death Eater buddies to congradulate when you get home." Hermione knew instantly that Ron had gone too far; without thinking, she leaped from her bed to the door. She burst through it, her mental image of Draco and Ron with their wands out turning to reality.

"NO!" She turned to Draco, who looked stunned by her sudden appearance, and stifled a sob. "Talk." He stared into her eyes for a moment, then sighed.

"I'm the one you've been writing to." As the shock rolled through her mind, he pulled out a bundle of letters from his robes. "Here. Don't take my word for it." He passed the bundle to her, and she took it from him with trembling hands. She flipped through the pages, staring at her own handwriting. Every letter she'd written since September. They were all here. Every happy, sad, angry, confused, and flat-out emotional moment was in her hands. And she'd written it all to him.

"It's true, Hermione. We heard him yelling at Ron. Please don't faint again." Ginny's soft voice soothed her a little, but not enought. She handed Draco the letters and turned away, intent on retrning to her room in the Room of Requirement. Madam Pomfrey had other ideas.

"Oh, no, you don't. You're staying overnight, just in case." Hermione spun around and Madam Pomfrey put a hand on her shoulder. "As for you lot," she said to the others, "clear off. This poor girl won't be bothered until she's ready to be." The others murmured their understanding, and Hermione let herself be swept into the Hospital Wing and back to her bed. She crawled under the blankets, seeking warmth and comfort. Madam Pomfrey bustled off to her office saying something about a sleeping potion. Hermione lay there on her side, trying to deal with all the emotions welling up inside her. She decided to sort them out one at a time.

Her parents were dead. Murdered. Her first reaction was terrible pain, followed by a desire to know who had killed them. She wanted to cause them as much pain as they'd caused her. She let the anger envelope her; it was easier to bear than the pain. After brooding on that for a few moments, she turned her thoughts to Draco Malfoy. He loved her. After shock she felt a peace and a strange glowing sensation in her heart. Could it be joy she was feeling? Before she could explore it deeper Madam Pomfrey arrived again with a goblet filled to the brim with a deep midnight blue potion.

"Drink it all, there's a girl." She said as Hermione put the goblet to her lips. She gulped the warm liquid, and handed the cup back to Madam Pomfrey. She laid down again and fell instantly to a dreamless sleep.

Hermione's Pain

A week before Christmas, Draco and Hermione were packing up to leave Transfiguration when Professor McGonagall called Hermione to her desk. Draco hung back, as did Harry and Weasley. Draco heard Harry mutter, "Ron, go ahead and go, don't cause trouble." But Ron stayed put. Harry sighed and shook his head.

"Alright, boys, you should probably be here. She'll need your support." McGonagall looked grim. The three of them stepped forward.

"What, did she fail a test or something?" Ron sneered. He'd become very hateful toward Hermione since Draco had sent him dancing with a spider.

"Shut up, Ron!" Harry snapped. "It's bigger than that, isn't it Professor?" But McGonagall didn't answer Harry. She looked at Hermione.

"Hermione, sit down, dear." Draco searched his memory for a time when she'd ever called any of them by their first name, or called any of them 'dear', but he couldn't. This had to be serious. He sat down beside Hermione, with Harry and Ron behind them. Draco waited on tenterhooks for the Transfiguration Professor to tell Hermione her bad news. Whatever he expected, it wasn't what he'd hear.

"You're parents...have been killed by Death Eaters."

Draco went cold, but he managed to catch Hermione as she fainted. He picked her up to carry her to the Hospital Wing, and Weasley helped him. McGonagall just sat there in shock, and Harry sprinted off saying something about Ginny. As Draco and Ron got to the hospital, Madam Pomfrey hurried out to meet them.

"Oh, dear. I suppose Minerva told her then?" Draco nodded, and she led them to a bed about halfway through the wing. As he eased Hermione down onto the bed, McGonagall came rushing in behind them. He and Ron turned to her, identical furious expressions on their faces. McGonagall seemed to know what was on their minds, because with a fervent glance at Hermine (who was now being fussed over by Madam Pomfrey) she led them to the corridor outside. Ron looked at Draco.

"What the bloody hell are still doing here?" He demanded.

"I have a bone to pick with your Head of House, same as you." Draco responded calmly.

"You don't care." Ron scoffed. That was enough for Draco.

"Who do you think she's been writing letters to all this time Weasley? It's been me! Yes, me! That's why I moved into the Room of Requirement, tha's why I talked to her in the library. I love her, and you'll just have to deal with it." He hissed. He then noticed Harry and Ginny standing behind Ron in the middle of the corridor, mouths hanging open.

"We'll just - Hermione - yeah, okay." Ginny said awkwardly. She dragged Harry into the hospital by the arm. Ron, who'd by now had enough, turned on McGonagall.

"What where you thinking, telling her a thing like that straight to her face without warning?" He shouted.

"Well, I had to tell her before she read about it in the _Prophet, _didn't I? How would you have done it?" She shouted back.

"Who did this? Who killed Hermione's parents?" Draco asked icily.

"You don't care. You just want to know which of your little Death Eater buddies to congradulate when you go home." Ron said. Draco reached for his wand; so did Ron, but before either of them could do anything Hermione burst through the door.

"NO!" She shouted, tears running silently down her face. She stood between the two of them, then looked at Draco. "Talk." He looked into those fantastic eyes, brown flecked with gold, and had to tell her.

"I'm the one you've been writing to." He pulled every letter she'd written him since September first out of a pocket in his robes. "Here. Don't take my word for it." He passed them to her. As she flipped through them, Ginny came and stood beside her.

"It's true, Hermione. We heard him yelling at Ron. Please don't faint again." Ginny said, halfway lifting her arms to catch Hermione if she did. Instead, Hermione handed the letters back to Draco and started for the stairs. Madam Pomfrey came out of the hospital and stopped her.

"Oh, no, you don't. You're staying overnight, just in case." She turned a stern eye on the rest of them. "As for you lot, clear off. This poor girl won't be bothered until she's ready to be." A soft chorus of "Yes, Ma'am," and they all turned to leave. Draco watched Madam Pomfrey steer Hermione back into the hospital, then headed for the Room of Requirement. Suddenly, a violent jerk on the back of his robes nearly sent him tumbling backwards into a suit of armor. He caught his balance and his eyes met the deep blue ones of Ginny Weasley.

"Couldn't you have just asked me for a word?" He groaned, rubbing his elbow where it had hit the wall. She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Draco, I've known it was you for a long time." Dumbstruck, it took a moment for him to answer her.

"How - why didn't you say anything?" He asked.

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything to you because I didn't want you to take it the wrong way. And I didn't tell Hermione because she needed to find out from you, I felt. We did wonder together if it was you, but she never took it seriously." She sighed.

"How did you know?" He whispered. That was what he wanted an answer to.

"Oh, come on. The library, moving in with her, and then watching you talk to her all those times in the common room? It wasn't hard to figure out. The only reason I was surprised to hear it coming up the hall was because I never expected you to scream it at the top of your lungs." She smirked at the look on his face. "Now, you need to get in there and talk to her."

"But how? Madam Pomfrey said - "

"Stuff what Madam Pomfrey said! You and Hermione need to talk. Can you meet me here around midnight?" Draco nodded dumbly. He was still uncertain, though. He decided he could trust Ginny, and voiced his main concern.

"What if she won't talk to me?" He felt lost. If Hermione refused to see him, he'd be ripped to bits inside. He hung his head. Ginny reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and grey met blue.

"Draco, I know she'll talk to you. She met the real Draco Malfoy this year, and to tell you the truth...I think she fell in love with him."


	13. Chapter 13

Confessions & Kisses

Hermione felt a hand on her head. She opened her eyes and sat straight up. She saw Draco standing beside her. Her jaw dropped.

"What - ?" A hand clamped over her mouth; Ginny was there too. The red-head pointed her wand at the door to Madam Pomfrey's quarters.

"_Muffliato!_" Ginny pocketed her wand and took her hand away. Dropping into a chair, she looked at Draco and said, "She can't hear a thing going on out here now. We could set off a bomb and she'd sleep through it." Hermione gazed at them, open-mouthed.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. Ginny turned her shrewd blue eyes on Hermone.

"I came to make sure you didn't give dear Draco a hard time. You two need to talk, and I didn't want to hear any stories about you setting attack canaries on him." Hermione felt her face warm; she remembered only too well the time she'd conjured canaries and made them attack Ron. One of the few times she'd let the pain of his actions overrule her logic.

"Hermione, I'm sorry." Draco spoke for the first time that night. She faced him. "I should've...I don't know. But I wish you hadn't found out that way. Not right after finding out about your parents." He sat down in a chair on her other side and hung his head. Hermione studied his blonde hair for a moment, but when she spoke her words were directed at Ginny.

"Gin, could you give us some time alone?" She looked at her skeptically, but Hermione said, "I promise the next time you see him he won't be covered in bandages. Or in the bed across the way." Ginny nodded.

"Should I wait outside, or just go back to Gryffindor Tower?" She asked.

"Go on back to the Tower. You and Harry come see me tomorrow, okay?" Ginny nodded again and stood. She walked toward the door, but stopped beside Draco. Hermione watched him lift his head, watched Ginny place a hand on his cheek and whisper something to him. Then she left the Hospital Wing and Hermione and Draco were alone.

"Please look at me." Hermione said. She couldn't stand to see Draco upset like this. He raised his gaze slowly to hers. She felt herself soften. "Draco, I'm not mad at you." a shadow of doubt and surprise flickered in his eyes, but he didn't say anything. "I'm not even disappointed. I'm a bit surprised, of course, and I tried to be mad, but...I couldn't. You're too good a friend for me to not like you for very long. I owe you so much." She stopped. Her parents' faces had just inexplicably popped into her head. She fought back tears.

"Hermione, I love you." To hear him say it straight out brought warmth to her, even in her pain. "You shouldn't have to deal with something like this. It isn't fair." When he took her hand, she squeezed his and felt the first tear about to fall. "Please, Hermione. Don't try to stay strong. Don't hold all that pain inside you. Let it out, let me help you bear it." The total honesty and conviction in his voice broke through her defenses. She started crying; harder than she ever had. She fell back on her pillows, and Draco crawled onto the bed beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and she laid her head between his chin and his chest. Violent sobs racked her body; her parents were dead. They weren't coming back. She had no more family in this world. She was alone.

_But I'm not, _she thought. _Draco's here. And Ginny brought him. And there's Harry. I have them. I will always have them._ The thought comforted her and she was able to control herself again. Almost. Tears still spilled down her cheeks, but her breathing had returned to normal and she glanced up at Draco's face. She was surprised to see tears there. He looked down then, and her wonderings about the past years must've shown on her face.

"What?"

"Well, I can't help but wonder about the last six years. You claim to have loved me since the beginning, but you never showed it until this year. What I want to know is, why? Why now, and not sooner? Why at all?" She let it out, hoping he'd explain and she wouldn't lose her composure again.

"When I first saw you, I thought you were cute. Then, you looked me straight in the face and I saw your eyes. There was no hope for me once you'd turned those big brown things on me. You got sorted into Gryffindor and I was so disappointed. The year went on and I learned that you were a Muggle-born, which as you know, I'm supposed to despise. Well, I tried. I tried to hate you for what you were. No luck." He paused, and she wondered what he was thinking. She also found that the thought of Draco trying to hate her hurt her a little. "I went home that summer and told my father about you, thinking if he knew his hatred of you would rub off on me. It didn't, of course. So when second year started, I knew I had to get you to hate me. I started calling you Mudblood, and I made you cry. It killed me, but I thought I was doing the right thing, in a twisted sort of way. When you were Petrified, I skipped all the classes I had with Gryffindor because I couldn't stand to see your empty seat." It was too much for her.

"Hang on. Harry and Ron told me that when you said a Muggle-born died last time, it was only a matter of time until one died this time. They told me - they told me you said you hoped it was me." She heard her own voice waver as she said it, and no wonder. Draco, want her dead? Before this year, she would've shrugged it off. Now it pained her almost as much as her parent's death.

"I only said that because I wanted to make it look like I really did hate - wait a minute." He looked confused, and Hermione suddenly realized why. "I never said that in front of them. I said it to Crabbe and Goyle. How did - ?" Hermione dropped her gaze as Draco looked at her. She felt the blush creep up her cheeks. "Hermone?"

"Um, well, we thought - we thought you were, you know, the Heir of Slytherin. We made Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and they snuck into the Slytherin common room with you as Crabbe and Goyle." She said it all in a rush, embarassed that she'd brought this to light.

"Merlin, you made Polyjuice Potion when you were only twelve? That's very advanced brewing! You really do know everything, don't you?" She heard the wonderment in his voice.

"Not really. Just a whole, whole lot." She laughed. It felt good. "Actually, I screwed up my own Polyjuice Potion. Remember when I was in here right after Christmas?" Draco nodded. "Well, I thought I had a hair from Millicent Boulstrode. It turned out to be a cat hair. That potion's not meant for animal transformations." He laughed, and she did too. They spent the early morning hours talking about everything that had happened between them in the six years they'd know each other. As he explained everything about his father and the driving need to keep his feelings hidden. During a brief lull in their conversation, Draco whispered that it was getting light, he needed to go. She let him stand up, but he stopped by her bed and turned slowly around to face her. He took a deep breath, and asked the question she hadn't known she wanted to hear.

"Hermione, could I...could I kiss you?" She smiled, joy flooding her system. She slipped out of bed too, and stood in front of him.

"Draco, I would love for you to kiss me," she whispered. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his encircled her waist, and she closed her eyes as his lips pressed to hers. It was more beautiful than anything she'd ever imagined a kiss could be, and she realized that no matter what happened from now on, she would always love Draco Malfoy and she would always remember her first kiss.

Amazing Kiss

"Where are you?" Draco hissed. It was midnight, and he was standing by the suit of armor outside the Hospital Wing. He could see nothing in the pitch black.

"Over here," Ginny answered, and he made his way towards her voice. He nearly knocked her over in the dark, but he grabbed her arm and she managed to stay standing. "Come on."

She led him to the hospital door and tapped the handle with her wand. There was a soft _click_ and she pushed the door open. It was lighter inside; the lamp by Hermione's bed was on. Draco closed the door and they tiptoed to Hermione's bed. She was the only patient tonight, and that made things much easier. When they reached her, they saw that she'd fallen asleep quickly; she was still wearing her robes. Ginny placed a gentle hand on Hermione's head and her eyes flew open. She sat up and saw Draco first.

"What - " She started loudly, but Ginny covered her mouth and pointed her wand toward Madam Pomfrey's quarters.

"_Muffliato!_" She whispered. She dropped her hand from Hermione's face and pocketed her wand. Then, she plunked down in a chair and looked at Draco. "She can't hear a thing going on out here now. We could set off a bomb and she'd sleep through it." He admired her skill.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione gasped. Ginny answered.

"I came to make sure you wouldn't give dear Draco a hard time. You two need to talk, and I didn't want to hear any stories about you setting attack canaries on him." Hermione flushed, and Draco was confused. He didn't bother asking.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I should've..." He actually couldn't think of anything. "I don't know. But I wish you hadn't found out that way. Not right after finding out about your parents." He sat down in a chair opposite Ginny and studied the floor.

"Gin, could you give us some time alone? I promise the next time you see him he won't be covered in bandages. Or in the bed across the way."

"Should I wait outside, or just go back to Gryffindor Tower?" He heard Ginny ask.

"Go on back to the Tower. You and Harry come see me tomorrow, okay?" Draco listened to Ginny's chair scrape the ground and her footsteps make for the door. They stopped by him and he looked up. She put a hand on his cheek and smiled.

"Good luck," she murmered, and left the two alone. Draco waited, dreading what he might hear Hermione say.

"Please look at me." He obeyed. _'Please'? Maybe this won't be so bad..._ "Draco, I'm not mad at you. I'm not even disappointed. I'm a bit surprised, of course, and I tried to be mad, but...I couldn't. You're too good a friend for me to not like you for very long. I owe you so much." She was looking at him with care and gratefulness on her face. It melted away to be replaced by pain, and he knew she was thinking about her parents.

"Hermione, I love you. You shouldn't have to deal with something like this. It isn't fair." He reahed for her hand, and she squeezed his. He could tell she was about to cry. "Please, Hermione. Don't try to stay strong. Don't hold all that pain inside you. Let it out, let me help you bear it." That was it. She sobbed and slumped back on her pillows, and he moved so he was sitting on the bed beside her. She leaned on him and he cradled her in his arms, chin resting against her forehead. He cried some too, for her. He could never imagine her pain. Well, he knew how he'd feel if anything ever happened to his mother, but he didn't care about his father. Hermione did care, and she'd lost them both. He didn't know what she was going through and never would.

Slowly, Hermione's sobs ebbed away. Draco looked down at her face, thinking she'd fallen asleep, but she was looking up at him. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks, but she was silent. The expression on her face was curious and confused.

"What?" He asked her.

"Well, I can't help but wonder about the past six years. You claim to have loved me since the beginning, but you never showed it until this year. What I want to know is, why? Why now, and not sooner? Why at all?" She replied in a rush. He had a feeling she needed to talk about something, anything, to keep her mind off her parents. This was a logical conversation to have.

"When I first saw you, I thought you were cute. Then, you looked me straight in the face and I saw your eyes. There was no hope for me once you'd turned those big brown things on me. You got sorted into Gryffindor and I was so disappointed. The year went on and I learned that you were a Muggle-born, which as you know, I'm supposed to despise. Well, I tried. I tried to hate you for what you were. No luck." He paused, thinking about the turbulent emotions that went along with his efforts. "I went home that summer and told my father about you, thinking if he knew his hatred of you would rub off on me. It didn't, of course. So when second year started, I knew I had to get you to hate me. I started calling you Mudblood, and I made you cry. It killed me, but I thought I was doing the right thing, in a twisted sort of way. When you were Petrified, I skipped all the classes I had with Gryffindor because I couldn't stand to see your empty seat."

"Hang on. Harry and Ron told me that when you said a Muggle-born died last time, it was only a matter of time until one died this time. They told me - they told me you said you hoped it was me." Her voice faltered, and he felt shame burning in his belly.

"I only said that because I wanted to make it look like I really did hate - wait a minute. I never said that in front of them. I said it to Crabbe and Goyle. How did - ?" Hermione was looking at the floor, suddenly very red in the face. "Hermione?"

"Um, well, we thought - we thought you were, you know, the Heir of Slytherin. We made Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and they snuck into the Slytherin common room with you as Crabbe and Goyle."

"Merlin, you made Polyjuice Potion when you were only twelve? That's very advanced brewing! You really do know everything, don't you?" He stared at her in amazement.

"Not really. Just a whole, whole lot." She laughed then, and the sweet sound filled him with joy. "Actually, I screwed up my own Polyjuice Potion. Remember when I was in here right after Christmas?" He nodded. "Well, I thought I had a hair from Millicent Boulstrode. It turned out to be a cat hair. That potion's not meant for animal transformations." They laughed together, and as the hour grew later, they combed through the previous six years and Draco explained every incident, every insult and evil comment. Finally, when dawn's first light crept through the windows, Draco pointed out that Madam Pomfrey would wake up soon. He slid off the bed, but he stopped there. He turned to her slowly, and taking a deep breath, asked the question he'd wanted to ask for ever.

"Hermione, could I...could I kiss you?" He saw the surprise flitter across her face, but she smiled at him and slid out of bed. She stood in front of him, positively glowing in the golden light, and the sweetest words he'd ever heard slipped from her lips in a gentle whisper.

"Draco, I would love for you to kiss me." And she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around her waist, and their lips met for the first time. She tasted like honey, and she was all his. He'd never in his wildest dreams thought he would be kissing Hermione Granger in the middle of the Hospital Wing. It was the most amazing moment in his life, and one he would never forget.


End file.
